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Friday, 02 June 2006 |
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Most local authorities will, by now, have set their standard licence rates for HMOs - houses in multiple occupation. In the Southwest, for example, Plymouth City council have set their HMO licence at £690, Torbay at £400. Under the new HMO licensing rules, more landlords will be finding that their properties now qualify as an HMO under the Housing Act 2004 definition, and will be required to register - whereas previously they managed to avoid licensing by claiming that the tenants shared the house, and lived in the manner of a single household.
According to Richard Perrin of the South Devon Residential Landlords Association, many local authorities are finding that the new tighter rules are already backfiring when it comes to providing housing for young or vulnerable people. Houses that used to be let as rooms or bedsits for young people are being increasingly redeveloped into self-contained flats to avoid the requirement for HMO licensing, and the availability of simple low cost accommodation is drying up. |
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