Frequently asked questions about HMO licensing

The council are consulting on a proposed city-wide Additional HMO Licensing scheme for three and four person Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

It is a statutory requirement that the council consult with all residents, landlords, business and other stakeholders to introduce Additional HMO Licensing.

Part 2, Section 80 (9) of the Housing Act 2004 allows for Additional Licensing of HMOs for example in a particular area or whole borough for those not covered by Mandatory Licensing.

The local housing authority must:

• take reasonable steps to consult persons who are likely to be affected by the designation; and
• consider any representations made in accordance with the consultation

The council are consulting for 12 weeks from the 13 October 2020 until 5 January 2021.

• Complete the online survey
• Email on licensing@salford.gov.uk
• Telephone on 0161 793 3344

A consultation report will be produced to record the views/opinions of those consulted. At this time the council will then decide whether to:

• not proceed with the licensing scheme at this time
• change the proposed licensing scheme and implement it
• approve the borough wide licensing scheme and implement it

The Housing Act 2004 provides a power for Local Authorities to licence HMOs which are not covered by Mandatory Licensing. Part 2 of the Housing Act provides for Additional Licensing of HMOs for example, in an area or the whole borough.

The Act permits Additional Licensing of HMOs that are not licensed under the Mandatory Scheme or Selective Licensing schemes but where the council has used its power to subject HMOs across the borough to Additional Licensing.

The private rented sector is an important part of providing a diverse housing offer in the city:

• Additional HMO Licensing will extend and continue the process of upgrading of HMO rental stock in line with the Mandatory Scheme
• All HMOs will be subject to the same evaluation and improvement regime as the national scheme
• Residents will be afforded the same protection as people in licensed HMOs

The council are proposing the introduction of a city-wide Additional HMO Licensing scheme.

Detailed evidence for the proposed scheme can be found in the consultation document on our consultation page.

The scheme will cover all HMOs of any size building, occupied by three or four unrelated persons.

Under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004, the council has a statutory duty to licence privately rented HMOs occupied by five or more persons in two or more households, sharing an amenity regardless of the number of storeys to be licensed. This is known as Mandatory Licensing.

This is a property licence scheme, and every property a landlord owns within the proposed boundary would need its own licence.

The scheme lasts for five years and will include Mandatory and Discretionary conditions aimed at ensuring licensed properties are safe, meet basic standards and are managed in a satisfactory way.

A property licence is not transferable to another property, person or organisation.

A licence is only required if the property is privately rented and occupied as a three or four person HMO.

Yes, these are listed in Schedule 14, of The Housing Act 2004.  In brief, these are HMOs that are:

• controlled or managed by a Local Housing Authority
• controlled or managed by registered social landlords and housing providers.
• controlled and managed by police
• controlled and managed by fire brigade
• controlled and managed by Health Service Body
• regulated by other enactments
• occupied by religious communities (except section 257 HMOs)
• occupied by two persons who form two households

The application process will be an online application which can be found on our webpages. The HMO will require an inspection.

It is a legal requirement for landlords to apply for a licence, and a criminal offence if a landlord fails to do so. This could then involve a civil penalty notice fine of up to £30,000 or prosecution through the courts.

The council can only grant a licence to someone who is in control of the property. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that an application for a licence is made for their property; however, they may not necessarily be the licence holder.

Landlords who manage their properties directly should apply for a licence. Where a managing agent is used, the managing agent could apply for the licence and the landlord will need to provide information about the property and give their consent.

Where a manager is employed, financial arrangements must be in place to ensure that any works deemed necessary for the proper management and maintenance of the property can be carried out.

A limited company can be the licence holder.

You must be a resident in the UK to be a licence holder.

If you don't apply for a licence and continue to rent your property, then you will be committing a criminal offence.

If a licence is issued and the conditions are subsequently breached, this could lead to the council taking court action or issuing a civil penalty of up to £30,000.

Breaching the licence conditions could lead to the revocation of the licence unless a suitable alternative licence holder could be found.

The council will inspect every property at least once, when an application has been made.

The proposed licence fees can be found on the consultation page.

There will be payment options, which include

• Payment in full
• 12 monthly direct debit payments
• 50% payment followed by 11 monthly direct debit payments
• 25% payment followed by 23 monthly direct debit payments

Any income generated from licensing fees can only cover the running costs of the scheme. The council are not allowed to make any surplus on the scheme to be used for any other purpose.

If you are a landlord of an HMO, irrespective of the number of stories that are occupied by three or four unrelated persons then you would need to apply for a licence if the scheme is introduced.

Licensing of HMOs requires landlords to provide items such as gas safety certificates, the safe provision of electrical appliances and furniture and to keep the fire detection and alarm system in working order.

This should provide a greater degree of safety and reassurance to the tenant.

Tenants will have reassurance that checks have been done to ensure both the property and any shared facilities are suitable and that the property is suitable to be occupied by the number of people living there.

The council will keep a list of properties that are licensed, and this will be publicly available on our website.

There will be a range of conditions attached to each licence which will relate to the management of the property. There are some mandatory conditions, which we are required by law to place on the licence.

These include conditions regarding fire safety.

The council have the discretion to attach a range of local conditions. These will include conditions regarding property management, waste disposal and dealing with anti-social behaviour amongst others.

Full details of these conditions can be found in the consultation document Annex 1 on our consultation page.

Additional HMO Licensing will ensure that HMOs not subject to Mandatory licensing in the privately rented properties in your area are being managed efficiently and will enable the council to take enforcement action against a wider range of properties where there may be problems.

This should result in benefits to all residents, businesses and visitors to the local area.

There will be a targeted approach to enforcement and the council will use a variety of methods to find those that haven't licensed. We will respond to complaints received about unlicensed property.

Where necessary we will seek to take appropriate enforcement against action those that continue to refuse to license their property.

Tenants will be able to inform the council if they believe their property is unlicensed. The council will use a variety of methods, working with other partners to seek out unlicensed properties.

There will be a public register of licensed property, so it will be easy for residents to find out if the property they are concerned about is licensed or not.

• Report a privately rented property
• Report anti-social behaviour
• Report waste issues

The introduction of an Additional HMO Licensing Scheme will enable the council to ensure three and four person HMOs are well managed and be sure that people are living in safe and decent conditions and not causing issues for the wider community.

Both the licence holder and property manager must complete the registration process. They are required to pass the fit and proper test and be a resident within the UK jurisdiction for enforcement of the licence.

No, however the evidence contained within the consultation report suggests that the issues found with small 3 and 4 person HMO’s were across the city.

A reduced fee is proposed for early licence applications.

Salford introduced an Article 4 direction in 2018 meaning that from this date planning permission has been required for small HMOs in Central Salford and the Wards of Barton and Eccles. We are looking at whether this should be extended to cover other areas of the city. Any planning applications for HMOs have to be considered against local planning policies, the National Planning Policy Framework and other material planning considerations. We cannot automatically refuse planning applications, we need to identify what harm would arise in planning terms (such as amenity, car parking, over concentrations and so on).

The proposed licence conditions include responsibility regarding waste.

You can report waste issues online 

Notices can be served under the Prevention of damage by Pests Act 1949 if rubbish attracting vermin is evident.