A Licence to HMO

A Consultation Paper has been released today (27 January 2010)seeking views on the Governments proposals give local authorities the ability to alter the selective licensing schemes for privately rented properties  without the approval of the Secretary of State.   Prior to altering their licensing schemes local authorities will still be required to justify why they propose to take this action and do a full consultation on their proposals.

Basically this is giving local authorities more ability to clamp down on the number of HMOs coming forward.  The official justification is to overcome the issue of the high concentration of HMOs, studentification, and all associated problems.  Neighbours complain that occupants of HMOs are more likely be transient, noisey, less neighbourly.  Local businesses say that these type of residents are less likely to support local businesses.

For a landlord it means once again we are all being tarnished by the same brush.  We will have to  jump through further hoops and deal with masses more paperwork in order to continue to provide accommodation for a sector in society who are largely overlooked.

HMOs do provide a useful form of accommodation.  More and more people are chosing to live the single life for longer.  Couples are splitting up.  A HMO provides accommodation for these single people, in a house share situation.

Lets face it from another point, HMOs are more environmentally friendly.  The heating is used for all occupants of the house.  If each of these people lived in their own dwelling they would be heating how many properties 3, 4 or 5.  Is that environmentally friendly, I think not.

Councils respond to NIMBYs (not in my back yard) who resist HMOs and many other forms of development or change from what they consider to be acceptable or the norm.