The random rolling out of HMO definitions?

Leave the sector and thus pass the ensuing nightmare for tenants onto the complicit councils

Additional 254 HMO licencing is what you are referring to. Which is another money making scam for Councils. I sold my 4 bed as it was not worth the hassle. Luckily Westminster got rid of 257 HMO licencing, which applied to communal areas, as it was so complicated for them to work out who had full 'control' of the building BUT when the LL Portal comes out ALL Councils will be chasing for 257 HMO Licences to generate even more income, of course fines AND charge hundreds of £ for any 'Improvement'. Notices they issue- Labour Government will give them green light for everything- so called devolment of power!

give all the tenants notice? Explain to them you have to reduce the number of occupants to 3 and see if you can come up with a solution?

Licensing will spread throughout the country like a plague with rules constantly changing to plug any gaps. Licence fee in my area is nearly £1,000 - for what? £30,000 - unlimited fines for each spec of dust an inspector may find!

Councils can introduce 'additional licencing' for shared houses with 3-4 unrelated occupants. This does NOT imply you need institutional lighting etc.

The key thing is to understand the flavour of HMO ( re institutional lighting). If it's a shared house, i.e a group of friends on one tenancy, no locks on bedroom doors presumably eat/cook together and not in their rooms

Two things ate important 1) it does not come under the regulatory reform order (fire safety) and 2) the fire risk is 1/6 of that of a bedsit type HMO

Councils prefer the blanket approach, emergency lighting etc when hhsrs doesn't actually mandate it. This requires the landlord to push back and ask to see the hhsrs ratings (which they won't have done as licensing is about revenue generation) and negotiate as to whether fire doors etc are actually required. Its time consuming for both but the rewards are there.

Get out of the system , give the council the problem.

Sell or convert into flats.
Simple.

I am one of 4 freeholders of a converted property. Despite having a separate entrance to my rental basement flat, Camden council viewed it as part of the required supplementary HMO for communal areas for the upper part of the property, where there are three properties. Even I don’t have keys for the upper part of the property let alone tenants as we are completely independent. Seems an utter nonsense to me. But that’s how they are dealing with effects of years and years of central government cuts to funding.

Reply to the comment left by Simon F at 16/01/2024 - 12:10
Not on it's own, but if your HMO licence requires an FRA then it will almost certainly require emergency lighting. Many of us have been there, coupled with exit strategy signs and fire exit sign over front and back doors of a simple shared 3 bed terrace house.