HMO licensing came into force in April, with a three month deadline for submission of applications set. However, concern has risen that a large number of landlords had failed to sign up by the July 6 deadline, risking a £20,000 fine.
David Salusbury, chairman at the NLA, said: “While many landlords have already applied for the necessary licences for their HMOs, we are concerned that a larger number have not taken the necessary steps to comply with the law.”
Nicola Severn, marketing manager at Mortgage Trust, added: “Save your landlord customers £20,000 by making sure they adhere to the new HMO regulation.”
Properties subject to HMO licensing include those let to three or more tenants, buildings converted into self-contained flats that did not meet the 1991 Building Regulation, and converted houses that contain one or more flats, that are not fully self-contained.
Andy Young, managing director at The Business Mortgage Company, (TBMC), argued the advent of HMO licensing would help improve housing stock. He said: “HMOs will be good for the market, helping to get rid of unscrupulous landlords and improving the general quality of housing stock, particularly in certain areas, such as university towns. HMOs won’t have a massive impact because it relates to a small part of the market, but there is a definite need for more awareness among BTL intermediaries and landlords. The government has left most of the groundwork of the legislation down to local authorities, which opens it up to individual interpretations of the rules. It might take a large fine of a landlord or firm to shock others into waking up to the reality of HMOs.”
