Landlords of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)

Certain properties require an HMO licence from the Local Authority. These are properties of three or more stories, containing two or more households with 5 or more individuals and there is an element of sharing. There are mandatory conditions attached to each licence. One of these relates specifically to anti social behaviour. These provisions are contained in the Housing Act 20004. Landlords of HMOs must:

• Comply with the conditions set out in the license
• Ensure all tenants have a tenancy agreement

Failure to comply with the conditions set out in the license is a criminal offence. The condition which specifically relates to anti social behaviour is:

• Measures to prevent anti-social behaviour within the premises shall be written into the terms of all new Tenancy Agreements,

If Landlords fail to deal with any ASB and do not actively manage the issue, ultimately by seeking possession, then the council can prosecute the landlord for failure to comply with licence conditions or can review the holding of that licence and with the last resort being taking over the property management and income via an interim management order. To prevent these types of actions the landlord will need to be able to clearly demonstrate he has taken all reasonable steps to address the issues by effective management. The council does not underestimate this can be difficult, which is why it wants to provide support to landlords in order for them to better manage their properties.