Milton Keynes Landlords Claim Second Victory Over Licensing Proposals

You'll find licensing can have the opposite effect as some current LL's with smaller HMO's will lose out as the rooms (kids b/room in 3 bed house or flat) will fall under the min size m2 so you'll have to chuck tenants out. Also the self contained flats converted before 1991 may have to be licensed as SHMO and have lots of costly changes to the building.

Reply to the comment left by "chris wright" at "13/11/2014 - 14:46":

Believe me, I would normally be the last person to want any form of licencing. However we are at our wits end here. The quality of life has just dropped over the edge and all formal means to address the problem have totally failed to do anything except waste peoples time.
Until last year, the police never appeared in the road. This is no longer the case and matters will definitely get worse as the inevitable conflicts of interest born of packing people together increase.
Packing six people into a small terraced house that previously only had two people and losing a socially valuable off road parking space is a dramatic turn for the worse.
Having irresponsibly allowed this situation to develop, we are just trying to limit the damage that we have to live with for the foreseeable future.
Under current legislation, there is nothing to stop every house in the road from doing the same thing. Moreover with ever increasing numbers of unmarried people looking for somewhere to live, unless some form of external force is applied, matters can only get worse. Just trying to deal with the symptoms (noise, unsociable behaviour etc) is what has caused this mess in the first place. Failure to limit population density is a root cause of the issue.
The rules need to be changed and quick but this is not going to happen.

By the way, one of the people who would lose out is myself.

Reply to the comment left by "Paul Shears" at "13/11/2014 - 13:53":

I`m not being facetious Paul but have you considered as a landlord yourself converting your properties in that road to maximise income and then if you feel the quality of life there is going rapidly downhill would you want to look at perhaps buying a property elsewhere to live in yourself where you wont encounter the same problems.

I have sympathies with your position because this problem has it seems crept up on you over time. I agree with Alex its more of a planning issue than a licensing one though.

Also I`m guessing unlike the tenants in these multilets you are probably better placed financially to up and move to a more desirable area. I dont know what estate it is and how long you have lived there but the type of estates where i invest in to maximise cash flow are generally not the type of areas I personally would choose to live in myself.
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Reply to the comment left by "Jonathan Clarke" at "13/11/2014 - 16:05":

As an outsider to this your post makes a lot of sense Jonathan, i.e. if you can't beat em join em.

Clearly there is a high demand too so in a round about way, Paul would be doing the Council and the likes of Shelter a big favour by reducing the homelessness list.
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This was until recently an up market area and I'm only interested in up market tenants. But it is going down hill fast. If I adopted the same behaviour I would certainly increase my income significantly and leave a permanent trail of devastation in my wake.
The houses are not on an estate as such. It's a small development consisting of a single road. It's in Winchester which is regarded as expensive by most people.
The council planning department have decided that this is not a planning issue and, indeed, have advised the landlord on how to keep it that way.
I do not invest to maximise cash flow and this development as crippled my capital gain plans. to move to a similar house in a better area would be over £500K.

Reply to the comment left by "Paul Shears" at "13/11/2014 - 17:26":

Plenty soul searching and commercial decisions to be made I think. From what you have said you will chose to move in a few years time anyway. The opportunities and threats you've described in your street suggest to me that it may be wise to capitalise on the opportunity. Maybe it's Hobson's Choice?
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Reply to the comment left by "Alex Caravello" at "13/11/2014 - 14:05":

WELL DONE IN YOUR GOOD FIGHT.
however licensing could have an impact on these hmo's as minimum room sizes are stipulated, and this would help paul's objection to intensive hmos. my LBN licences stipulate a max number of occupants. are you saying this is unenforceable?

Reply to the comment left by "Paul Shears" at "13/11/2014 - 17:26":

I`m with Mark here. You are running a commercial operation here and you are kind of mixing business with pleasure. You may have to just adapt to the changing environment. Its unfortunate but your original business plan may just have to be tweaked.

But money is the same colour in essence whether it comes from cash flow or capital gains. Its all about being able to access it when and if you want / need to. The police are frequently called to estates I invest in and they have the daily round of loud music barking dogs, screaming domestics and the like.

But when the extra money hits my account its still buys the same goods in the shops as the cash flow from my posh quiet peaceful pretty gardens properties. Money does not discriminate between posh and poor. £400 pcm is better than £200 pcm at the end of the day. Money does not care really whether it comes from up market or down market areas. It really doesnt give a dam.

Dont get me wrong I wouldnt want to be in your shoes but you only have one life. I would up sticks move and not worry too much about what you leave behind.

Maximise your income and if the problem gets too bad rest assured the police/ social services/ residents/ parents/ landlords/the council / postmen / local schools / community leaders/ politicians will eventually all get round a table get their act together to resolve the nightmare they jointly created

Its just it takes them so so so long to problem solve these issues as they are often weighed down with bureaucracy red tape lack of experience and that oh so contagious disease called - passing the buck .

When it is finally resolved you can move back perhaps and enjoy the peace and quiet you once had and of course are entitled to. Good Luck

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "13/11/2014 - 17:50":

Hi Joe.

Your licence may stipulate a maximum number of tenants per room, or per house, but this is ultimately a function of the size of the house and its amenities, i.e. number of bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, etc.

It is not possible for a license to limit, for example, 4 tenants in a 6 double-bedroom house, all ensuite with 2 kitchens.

Therefore, the license can only express the rules that already exist in terms of minimum room sizes and amenities.