This site uses cookies to store information on your computer
Read more
This article has been put together to provide information on what is an HMO, what needs to be done in order to change a property to an HMO. It explains the implications of illegally using a property as an HMO, ASB in a HMO and overcrowding a HMO.
Are you currently living in a residential property and wondering whether you can use it as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) without your landlord’s consent? Or perhaps you are asking whether a landlord can easily convert their property into an HMO?
The answer is no: you cannot use the property as an HMO without your landlord’s permission. When a landlord lets a property, they ensure that the number of occupants and their relationship does not require it to be licensed as an HMO. Attempting to use the property as an HMO without consent would breach your tenancy agreement and may constitute a criminal offence.
Landlords are legally responsible for knowing who occupies their property at all times. For this reason, tenants must obtain written permission from their landlord for any person not named on the tenancy agreement to stay for more than two weeks at any one time.
What Are the Implications for Tenants Who Attempt to Use a Property as an HMO Without Consent or a Licence?
If the HMO Office discovers that a property is being used as an HMO—regardless of whether the landlord is aware—the landlord will be fined. If a managing agent is involved, they may also be fined. Landlords or agents who operate legitimate HMOs risk being deemed “not fit and proper” to manage them in the future.
Tenants will be in breach of their tenancy agreement, which may result in the tenancy being terminated. Guarantors may be contacted and required to address the breaches as co-signatories to the agreement.
What Must a Landlord Do to Convert a Property into an HMO? Is It Expensive?
To obtain an HMO licence for a new HMO, the landlord must first secure planning permission for change of use. This is often a lengthy and costly process, and approval is not guaranteed.
Once planning permission is granted, the landlord must apply for an HMO licence and pay a non-refundable fee, charged per occupant. The permitted number of occupants depends on the size and layout of the property.
For instance:
Applying for double occupancy within a single bedroom increases the licence fee. Additional requirements also apply regarding the number of bathrooms, WCs, showers, cookers, sinks, kitchen space, lounge space and bin storage areas.
An HMO officer will inspect the property. Fire safety requirements vary depending on the property layout but may include:
Typical bathroom requirements include:
The landlord must also obtain a range of compliance certificates, such as fire alarm inspections, emergency lighting tests, electrical inspections and fire risk assessments. These must be renewed periodically (every 6 months, 12 months or 5 years), adding to ongoing costs.
Many landlords choose not to operate HMOs due to higher overheads, increased wear and tear, more frequent tenant turnover and the administrative burden. When considering planning fees, HMO application costs, required building works and ongoing compliance, the process can take over a year and cost many thousands of pounds.
Are You Currently Living in an HMO?
HMO Certificates and Licence
If you occupy an HMO managed by Kingston Berkeley, all required certificates and the HMO licence are available through the tenant app.
Occupancy
All our HMOs are licensed for one occupant per bedroom:
3 bedrooms = 3 occupants
4 bedrooms = 4 occupants, etc.
None of our properties are licensed for couples sharing bedrooms or multiple occupants in one room.
Your tenancy agreement states that only named tenants may reside in the property, even for a single night. If your property has fewer occupants than bedrooms and you have found someone suitable to move in, this may be possible subject to background checks, updated paperwork and landlord approval.
If an existing tenant wishes to leave and you have a replacement, the change can only occur following approval, background checks, amendments to documentation and landlord consent. A fee may be payable.
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
The HMO definition of anti-social behaviour includes acting—or threatening to act—in a manner likely to cause nuisance or annoyance to anyone living in, visiting or engaging lawfully in or near the premises, or using or threatening to use the property for illegal purposes.
ASB is not limited to loud music in the early hours; it may also include practising musical instruments during the day.
If an ASB complaint is made, the council’s noise pollution team will investigate and inform the HMO department. Representatives from the council, the HMO department and/or the PSNI may attend the property at any time of day or night. The landlord may be contacted out of hours if the issue cannot be resolved immediately. The HMO department will issue a notice requiring the landlord to implement their ASB management plan.
Consequences for Tenants When ASB Is Reported
Tenants may:
Consequences for Landlords or Agents
Landlords or agents may be contacted out of hours and required to attend the property, resulting in additional charges to tenants for breach-related callouts. Following an ASB report, landlords/agents must contact all named tenants, implement the ASB plan and update the HMO department.
Serious incidents involving criminal behaviour, illegal activity or property damage may require statements, evidence and additional inspections by authorities, significantly increasing the burden on landlords/agents.
Three or more ASB reports from the same property within a single licensing period (five years) may jeopardise renewal of the HMO licence. This may lead to loss of the application fee, a reduction in achievable rental income and a substantial fall in the property’s resale value—potentially costing the landlord tens of thousands of pounds.
Below is information taken from NIHMO`s website;
Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016
On Monday 1 April 2019, licensing laws for shared flats and houses changed. On this date the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 came in to operation and local councils across NI took over responsibility for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) from the NI Housing Executive.
The purpose of the Act is to allow better regulation of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) by introducing a system of licensing and new provisions about standards of housing. It also aims to streamline the definition and clarify the law.
All HMOs must be licensed by their local council unless a temporary exemption notice is in effect.
The NIHMO unit administers the regulation of HMOs on behalf of each of the 11 Northern Ireland councils.
What is an HMO?
A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is defined in Section 1 of the HMO Act (NI) 2016 as a building or part of a building (for example, a flat) that is:
living accommodation occupied by three or more persons as their only or main residencethose living in it form more than two households, andrents are payable or additional considerations by at least one of the people living in the accommodation.
Section 1 also introduces Schedule 1 to the definition of “house in multiple occupation”.
Definition of living accommodation
Section 2 defines “living accommodation” for the purposes of Section 1. A building, or part of a building, is living accommodation:
(i) if it is capable of being occupied as a separate dwelling, or
(ii) if it forms part of any building or group of buildings in single ownership and its occupants share a toilet, personal washing facilities or facilities for the preparation or provision of cooked food.
“Single ownership” is defined in subsections (2) and (3) in a way which prevents avoidance of the legislation by artificially dividing ownership of a property between members of a family or connected companies.
What is the HMO Licensing Scheme?
From 1 April 2019, the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 came into effect, which makes it a statutory requirement for all HMOs in Northern Ireland to be licensed (unless a temporary exemption notice is in effect).
The HMO Licensing Scheme, has replaced the HMO Registration Scheme, which was managed by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Any HMOs that were registered in accordance with the statutory Registration Scheme were converted to licences on the 1 April 2019, in accordance with the provisions of The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Commencement and Transitional Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2019.
Requirement for HMOs to be licensed
Section 7 of the HMO Act (NI) 2016 requires every house in multiple occupation to be licensed under this Act unless a temporary exemption notice is in effect. A licence for an HMO authorises the use of a property as a HMO subject to the licence conditions.
Purpose of the HMO Licensing Scheme?
The Department for Communities has introduced the statutory HMO Licensing Scheme to ensure that occupiers in HMO properties can enjoy accommodation that is safe and of a reasonable standard and at the same time minimise any negative impacts on the neighbourhood and surrounding area. The HMO licensing scheme also aims to provide additional enforcement powers for local councils and increased penalties for criminal offences to ensure effective regulation of HMOs.
Who administers the HMO Licensing Scheme?
On the 1 April 2019, the responsibility for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) regulation transferred from the Housing Executive to Northern Ireland local councils.
The granting, refusal, variation or revocation of a licence rests with the individual council in which the HMO resides. However, Belfast City Council, on behalf of each of the local councils across Northern Ireland will be responsible for managing the HMO Licensing Scheme application process, which will include processing all licence requests, validating the requests, checks and inspections of HMO properties, issuing enforcement notices for unlicensed HMOs or breaching licensing conditions.
Managing Agents
To act on behalf of the owner of an HMO the managing agent must be named on the licence. Acting on behalf of an HMO owner as a managing agent but not named on the licence is a criminal offence and both the owner and managing agent can be prosecuted and on summary convicted each party can be fined up to a maximum of £10,000. Management agents should check that their clients (or prospective clients) have a valid HMO licence in place for the property they have been asked to manage. Managing an unlicensed HMO is a criminal offence and on summary conviction the managing agent can be fined up to £20,000.
How long is an HMO licence valid for?
An HMO licence is granted for a five year period, and is renewed every five years.
Fees
You will be asked to pay the licence fee at the end of the application. Do not exit the payment screen until you receive confirmation of payment.
The cost of the HMO licence is based on the number of tenants that you propose to licence the HMO for.
The cost per person for the five year licence is £225.
Occupancy Levels
Schedule 2, paragraph 1(2)(f) of the Act requires the owner to specify the maximum number of persons who it is proposed will occupy the accommodation as their only or main residence at any one time. The permitted occupancy is dependent on the number and size of the rooms available as sleeping accommodation, the age and relationship status of the occupants and the personal washing facilities available to the proposed occupants.
Additional fire safety measures may be required where vulnerable occupants are occupying the HMO. Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service define as vulnerable person as anyone who may need additional measures to help them to evacuate in the event of a fire due to impaired mobility, a disability or other illness which may impact on their ability to self-evacuate. Compliance with this guide is not necessarily sufficient to address the protection of vulnerable residents from fire. You should read The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) guide titled, “Fire Safety in Specialised Housing” for more advice.
Fit and proper persons
Section 10 of the HMO Act (NI) 2016 specifies matters to which the council must have regard (in addition to other things it may consider) when deciding whether an applicant, an owner, or a managing agent, is a fit and proper person. A person who is disqualified under Section 38 (link opens in new window) of the Act cannot be regarded as a fit and proper person. In any other case, the council must consider specified matters: whether the person has committed certain types of offence, practiced unlawful discrimination or contravened housing law or landlord and tenant law; actions or failures to act in relation to antisocial behaviour; affecting a house let by the applicant or for which the applicant was an agent. The council may also take into account any other matter which it considers to be relevant.
If an owner or managing agent is a body (whether incorporated or not), the body is not a fit and proper person if any of the following is not a fit and proper person:
(a) a director of the body,
(b) a partner of it, or
(c) any other person concerned in the management of the body.
For the purposes of assessing whether the applicant is a fit of proper person, the council will require the applicant to produce a current suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment (FRA). In completing the application form the applicant must declare that the premises will be maintained in accordance with the FRA. The application must also declare that the property will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the Northern Ireland HMO Fire Safety Guide. If it appears that an applicant fails to comply with that declaration, the council will reassess whether that person continues to be a fit and proper person to hold a licence.
Anti-social behaviour
In subsection Section 10(6) of the Act anti-social behaviour is defined as:
acting or threatening to act in a manner causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to a person residing in, visiting or otherwise engaging in a lawful activity in residential premises or in the locality of such premises, orusing or threatening to use residential premises for illegal purposes.Satisfactory management arrangements
Section 11 of the HMO Act (NI) 2016 outlines the considerations that a council must take into account when deciding whether suitable management arrangements are in place at application stage. An applicant must be able to demonstrate that any person proposed to be involved in managing the property has a sufficient level of competence, that those persons are fit and proper and that the proposed management structures are suitable. The applicant must also demonstrate that the funding arrangements for maintaining and managing the HMO are suitable. A letter from an accountant, bank or some other person with professional knowledge of the funding arrangements will be considered acceptable to meet this requirement.
The council may also take into account other considerations which it considers relevant.
Breach of planning control
In considering applications for a new HMO licence the Council may only grant the licence if satisfied that the occupation of the living accommodation as an HMO would not constitute a breach of planning control.
Where the Council is not satisfied that the occupation of the living accommodation as an HMO would not constitute a breach of planning control, the Council will notify the applicant before the end of 28 days from the date of valid application (see 3.3.11). If the refusal of the application is solely because the Council is not satisfied that the use would not constitute a breach of planning control, there is no right of appeal.
Pursuant to Article 3 of the Planning (Use Classes) Order 2015, HMOs are sui generis use. This means that using a property as an HMO normally requires planning permission. Planning permission for residential use is not sufficient. You may be able to obtain a Certificate of Lawful Use or Development (CLEUD) if the property has previously been used as an HMO.
Applicants are therefore strongly advised to obtain planning permission or obtain a CLEUD before applying for a licence. You can find details about applying for a CLEUD on your Council’s website or for Council’s other than Mid Ulster at the Planning Portal.
There may be exceptional circumstances in which the Council will accept other evidence which proves that the occupation of the living accommodation as an HMO would not constitute a breach of planning control. The evidence should be sufficient to satisfy the Council that the property has been in use as an HMO from the date relied upon. Therefore any evidence submitted by an applicant must be sufficiently precise and unambiguous. This may include (but is not limited to) the following documents:-
Any evidence relied upon will only be assessed once the application has been deemed valid. As a licence must specify the owner of the HMO pursuant to section 7(3)(d) of the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 the Council in the case of a transfer of ownership will require confirmation that the sale has been complete before the application will be considered as being valid.
Should the Council be satisfied that the grant of an application for an HMO licence would not constitute a breach of planning control, applicants should note that this does not constitute a planning decision for the purposes of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
Applications to Renew an HMO Licence
Pursuant to Section 20(4)(a) a breach of planning control cannot be taken into consideration when considering a renewal application. An application to renew the licence must be made before the licence ceases to have effect as any application received after the expiry of the licence is a “new application”.
Landlords’ responsibilities
Licence conditions
All HMO licences are issued with conditions, as a minimum the licence will be granted with standard licence conditions. Read the Standard Licence Conditions for Houses in Multiple Occupation
In certain circumstances the licence many be granted with the additional condition, if this is the case those additional conditions along with a statement of reasons why those additional conditions have been imposed shall be appended to the licence certificate.
Code of practice
Section 63 of the 2016 Act provides that the Department for Communities may prepare and approve a code of practice with regard to the management of houses in multiple occupation. View the code of practice.
Failure to comply with the code of practice is not in itself an offence. However councils may take into account any breach of the code of practice as a relevant matter in deciding whether a person is a fit and proper person for the purpose of the 2016 Act.
Safe good quality accommodation
All HMO landlords must make sure that the accommodation they provide is safe, of good quality, and has suitable facilities for the number of occupants by making sure that:
HMO landlords must also give tenants an information pack (in different languages or formats if appropriate) which includes:
Anti-social behaviour
HMO licence holders must have an antisocial behaviour plan in place to manage and deal with anti-social behaviour arising from with the curtilage of their property. They must also keep a record of any instances of anti-social behaviour and any interventions or actions taken to deal with the issue.
Tackling anti-social behaviour
Responsible HMO landlords want to be good neighbours, take the behaviour of their tenants seriously and work to resolve any alleged anti-social behaviour linked to their properties.
Councils will provide a supporting role to resolve such issues. The NI HMO Unit has developed a guide highlighting ways to tackle anti-social behaviour linked to their properties.
Overcrowding in HMOs
The landlord must make sure the number of occupants specified on the licence is not exceeded.
General HMO management
Under the NI Houses in Multiple Occupation Act, landlords or agents must have good management policies and procedures in place to make sure physical standards are maintained, occupiers' rights are respected, and any problems which arise during the period of the licence are effectively addressed.
They must also be able to manage issues which may concern neighbours effectively (such as building maintenance, cleaning, noise or disturbance and suitability of the applicant or agent).
Councils may consider a landlord’s potential to manage these issues (or past performance) when deciding whether to grant a licence.
Councils may include additional conditions appropriate for regulating the management, use and occupation of an HMO. The NI HMO Unit is responsible for ensuring these conditions are met throughout the lifetime of the licence and may recommend the introduction of additional conditions, variation or revocation of licence depending on a landlord’s performance.
Tenants Rights and Responsibilities
If you live in an HMO, you will be able to check if the property you live in is licensed as an HMO and that it complies with the legislation. It should be safe, good quality, and have suitable facilities for the number of people living there. Your landlord should also give you an information pack.
Tenants also have responsibilities to make sure the landlord can carry out their duties; tenants must:
HMO Enforcement Actions
Enforcement Action
All HMO owners are responsible for ensuring that they have a valid HMO licence (unless a temporary exemption notice is in place) and comply with the conditions of any licence granted for the property. It is a criminal offence to operate an HMO without a licence or breach licensing condition. If a landlord is found not to have a valid HMO licence, the NI HMO Unit may on behalf of your local council take enforcement action, which could result in one of a number of the following actions:
variations to the terms of a licence;issue fixed penalty notices;prosecution and/ or revocation of the HMO licence.
Under the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, the council has the power to inspect a property if it thinks it is a HMO. All enforcement action depends on the circumstances of each individual HMO, and will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
When can an HMO licence be revoked?
A council may revoke a licence at any time. There are a number of possible grounds that may lead to a revocation of a licence. These include:
the licence holder or agent is no longer a fit and proper person,the accommodation is no longer suitable for occupation as an HMO and cannot be made suitable,there has been a serious breach of the licence conditions.
Appeal of an enforcement notice?
Any person who the council is required to serve notice of a decision has the right to appeal against the decision in writing to the county court before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date of determination.
This site uses cookies to store information on your computer
Read more