Counting the cost: Council’s exorbitant charges for HMOs!

Raj
This is one of the “joys” of being a landlord.
I have an HMO student house in Birmingham and the cost for a 5 or 6 bed HMO 5 year licence is in excess of £1100 and, as in your case, the council do not visit.
The bottom line is that it is purely a money-making exercise for the council and there is nothing you can do about it other than to pay up.

You could consider yourself lucky that you haven't had a visit as it usually means some further expense is required. The cost of my last license plus the 'extras' required have meant the rent must go up by £300 per year to break even over the 5 years.

You don't mention which city /town it is in .All councils have their own charges .
Glasgow always do a property visit with a fire officer present before even considering renewing the hmo licence.
Currently it's about 1000 for up 6 bedrooms for 3 years . First application for a hmo licence is £2000 for 3 years .

Reply to the comment left by Mr.A at 18/01/2024 - 12:25Mr A.
All i can say is that I’m glad I don’t have a property in Glasgow. £2,000 for 3 years is scandalous !! Just more money for councils who in most cases have had huge budget cuts. Landlords are a very easy target.

The charges levied by our Council for HMO licensing have gone up substantially (thankfully our licences last for 5 years) and we have also been put to expense upgrading some fire doors.

However, as Mick Roberts wisely says, "At the end of the day, the tenant pays for everything." If you get any kick back, tell your tenants how much it costs in licence fees to house them.

What's happened is Councils have gone to politicians to say they can't cope with enforcing Housing standards on the financial allowance paid to them by Govt.
Instead of increasing funding, and in accordance with the hostile climate against landlords, Government legislated the ability of Local Authorities to charge Licensing schemes whereby they generated extra revenue from landlords but obfuscating the burden falling on the end funders, viz Tenants

Tenants need to wake up and understand that THEY are paying for this. I'm surprised the liberal left haven't jumped on this

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 18/01/2024 - 20:58
Chris
Councils are only supposed to recover the costs of administering the scheme. They can be challenged if charges are excessive. Unfortunately, it is up to individual landlords to challenge - and risk coming to the attention of housing officers and given enhanced oversight.
However, if there is a great disparity between Councils with similar demographics and housing stock then a challenge may be a good idea. £1000 pa is several times what we pay.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 19/01/2024 - 10:22
Yes Ian, but Licensing schemes are just another route to addressing Standards ( and often, not actually addressing, where there are no inspections ! )
Before Licensing, enforcement had to be carried out from existing budgets, which all accept, were being strained ( like every public service )
But at least that was on an ' if it aint broke, don't fix it basis '
Inspecting a property in absence of any issue or complaint raised is just another example of Nanny-state.

Reply to the comment left by JB at 18/01/2024 - 11:30
Hi JB,

I'm totally on board with covering the costs if the council deems it necessary to make modifications for the safety of our tenants. Safety first, right?

Just a thought: It would be great if the council could schedule a visit to the property at least during the time of renewal. It's like killing two birds with one stone – ensuring safety and catching up on property vibes.