New minimum room sizes revealed for HMOs
The government has announced new minimum space requirements for private lettings in a bid to reduce problems of overcrowding. From October councils will be able to set minimum bedroom size standards for HMOs – and also introduce limits on how many people can live in each bedroom.
Councils will be able to use national minimum standards or apply even tougher requirements if they feel there is a specific problem in a local area.
Minimum space requirements
Rooms used for sleeping by one person over 10-years-old will have to be no smaller than 6.51 square metres, and those slept in by two people over 10-years-old will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres. Rooms slept in by children of 10 years and younger will have to be no smaller than 4.64 square metres.
The HMO licence must specify the maximum number of persons (if any) who may occupy any room and the total number across the different rooms must be the same as the number of people the house is to be home to.
To whom do these new rules apply?
The new standards will apply to all landlords seeking new licences. Landlords of existing properties will be given up to 18 months to make necessary changes when re-applying for a licence when it expires.
The Government laid the Draft Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, before Parliament in March. It said the regulation will give councils new powers to tackle the small minority of rogue landlords who rent out overcrowded properties. They will be able to impose fines of up to £30,000 for those landlords who do not comply.
In a move to stop rubbish piling up outside some shared rented homes, landlords will also be required to provide an adequate number of bins – in line with their local authority’s rules. If they fail to do so they could face a fine.
Landlords of one and two-storey multiple occupancy properties will be brought within scope of mandatory licensing requirements across England, affecting roughly 160,000 additional properties.
Should you have any concerns relating to your HMO properties, please call Pace and we will be happy to discuss your particular situation with you.
Marcus James is Lettings Manager at Pace, an independent Southend on Sea Letting Agent. He deals with every aspect of the property letting process, providing expert and candid advice together with tailor-made marketing plans for each property he lists for rental.
Marcus prides himself on ensuring our landlord clients get the best return in the right timeframe for their investments by conducting rental appraisals, letting viewings and oversees the running of the lettings department.
