As a result of the 2004 Housing Act, the licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in England and Wales, like Scotland and Northern Ireland, will no longer be discretionary. The Act defines an HMO as a house occupied by three or more unrelated residents and so it covers virtually all traditional private houses occupied by students – although it specifically excludes university-run accommodation. Compulsory licensing for those properties most at risk – where there are five or more unrelated residents and the house is three or more storeys tall – took effect in 2006. In addition, local authorities can designate whole areas where all HMOs, including smaller houses, will have to be licensed, and there is no doubt that they will look to do this in some university city suburbs with large student populations. This may result in a reduced supply of privately rented properties or the additional costs associated with mandatory licensing being passed on by landlords to students.
It sounds complicated, but licensed HMOs give better property management, greater financial regulation, and added health and safety protection to student tenants so you need to understand all of this if the property that interests you is an HMO. In fact, it’s worth asking if your house is covered by an accreditation scheme or code of standards. These codes are models of good practice and act as a checklist of what constitutes decent standards and common sense responsibilities for both owner and student. Now that the Housing Act is law, it is expected that larger properties, even those administered by the universities themselves, will be required to comply with a scheme like the National Codes of Standards for Larger Student Developments devised by the AccreditationNetwork UK, NUS and Unipol.
