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

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

0:02 AM, 18th January 2024, About 6 months ago 18

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Hello, I am expressing my concern regarding the local council charges for HMO licensing fees. I own a 5-bedroom flat in Scotland that has been converted into an HMO, compliant with the guidelines provided by the council.

Initially, the council fees were £300.00 per year, which seemed reasonable considering the need for the council’s HMO officer to visit the property and generate a report.

However, after five years, I have observed a significant increase in the licensing costs, now totalling £1010.00. What raises questions for me is that during this entire period, there has not been a single visit from a council officer to inspect the property’s HMO compliance.

Instead, all that was required on my part was submitting the necessary HMO documents to the council.

Given the absence of on-site visits and the relatively straightforward nature of managing the documentation, I find myself wondering if the increased cost is justifiable solely for the administrative task of handling these documents.

I am not sure of the factors contributing to this substantial fee hike, especially considering the limited council involvement in physically assessing the property’s compliance.

What do others think?

Thanks,

Raj


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Hiremath

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9:42 AM, 20th January 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Student landlord Birmingham at 18/01/2024 - 11:09
In the face of escalating council tax rates and licensing fees, there arises a perplexing question: why are local councils finding themselves in financial distress? Despite the increased revenue from these sources, the sustainability of council finances seems to be elusive. This paradox prompts a deeper examination of the factors contributing to the financial challenges faced by councils despite the apparent boost in income.

JB

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10:50 AM, 20th January 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Hiremath at 20/01/2024 - 09:42
The vast amount of money wasted on housing the homeless in B and B's can't help

Steve O'Dell

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11:12 AM, 20th January 2024, About 6 months ago

I notice a few comments mentioning cuts to council budgets serving to stimulate the need for councils to raise money from HMO licence fees. I wish people would pay more attention to the state of poor leadership and management of most, if not all councils. Throwing money at them via central government is not the solution. Huge amounts of tax payers money are wasted by councils. Tax is at an all time high and local charges from councils are at an all time high. Sickness absence in the public sector is repeatedly shown to be 50% higher than in the private sector - why, because it is indicative of the culture of councils. Just one example of huge waste. Until such time as there is a systemic cultural change in the way in which councils are managed, we as landlords will pay for the incompetence.

Martin Thomas

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17:12 PM, 20th January 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 19/01/2024 - 10:22
Ian - as always, your comments are sound. Can you advise what would be the best way to challenge a Council's charges?
For example, I have been monitoring my local Council's charges compared to the income raised over the past few years and I believe I can demonstrate that they have made a surplus of c£100k spread over approx 1,000 HMOs. Do we try to negotiate and if that fails go down the Small Claims Court route?
This particular Council has recently decided not to renew the Additional licensing scheme from 1 Jan 2024 but lo and behold, it has announced an increase in fees for the Mandatory HMOs of 28% from 1 Jan 2024. I've written to them saying they can't simply cost shift but as yet, had no response. I don't see how the cost of the original Mandatory scheme can have changed by even 1p! And years ago, I was the Chief Accountant for this Council!

Hiremath

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18:43 PM, 20th January 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Martin Thomas at 20/01/2024 - 17:12
It's good to be informed about whether anyone has contested the council regarding the high licensing costs, either through legal proceedings or by having a council member advocate for the concerns of their constituents.

JB

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20:42 PM, 20th January 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Martin Thomas at 20/01/2024 - 17:12
'This particular Council has recently decided not to renew the Additional licensing scheme from 1 Jan 2024 but lo and behold, it has announced an increase in fees for the Mandatory HMOs of 28% from 1 Jan 2024.'

It sounds like that means less work for them with a similar income - nice!

Landlord, Lewisham

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8:02 AM, 8th June 2024, About a month ago

Lewisham Council charged £3,000, five years ago for a HMO licence for a six bed Hmo. Not one inspection was made during that time.
This is just a money making exercise for Councils who they clearly do not care about their tenants!

Spock

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12:46 PM, 9th June 2024, About a month ago

You shouldn’t be surprised that you had no visits regarding licence conditions. I have a property in Birmingham for which my HMO licence fee has risen over the years. Then they took away the discounts available for being a member of NLA or MLAS. The idea of being a member was to keep up to date with all matters relating to being a landlord. This, quite rightly was rewarded by a discount on licence fees. After all, what is the idea behind getting a licence ? It means that your property is being well kept and well managed. So being a member of a recognised association is a reward for that and so a discount is good incentive. The bad landlords who do not keep their properties in good condition and do not manage them well will not bother being members and so will not earn the discount. Of course Birmingham city council do not care about that because they are only interested in the money they bring in via licences. They also do not come out to inspect. Why ? Because that will cost money in staff and so it is much easier not to send anyone out. The landlord has no choice in these matters. They have to stump up these fees in order to abide by the rules.

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