subject: The Important Facts about Houses for Multiple Occupancy [print this page] There are several benefits in having more than one tenant in your house. Besides, having high rental income you will also enjoy economies of sales and continues source of income as you are not going to lose all your tenants at one time. However, the only constrain lies in the fact that you will be burden with an increase management responsibility and following additional government tenancy act regulations. Houses having more than one tenant are generally referred to as Houses in Multiple Occupancy or HMO. About the HMO HMO can generally be divided into two categories- one that needs to be registration and the other that does not require registration. The property which requires registration are the one that have more than two floors and have five or more tenants, who are not property-owners family members, and are sharing facilities such as the bathroom, toilet and so on. In other words, it refers to those houses which have been transformed into non-self-contained accommodation or bed-sits. The important thing to remember is that the properties which are solely used to rent tenants and are used as the only residence by the tenants needs to be registered under the Houses in Multiple Occupancy act. As such properties which are let to migrant workers, students, nurses, etc. comes under this category. Obtaining license The house-owner whose HMO needs to be registered should obtain a license from the local authority. Either the owner or the managing agent of the owner needs to apply for the required license. The license for the HMO generally last for a period of five years. The amount of fees required for obtaining the license is determined by the local government authority and not by the central government authority. Obtaining the HMO license is mandatory for every owner whose property falls under HMO act. If the owner fails to obtain the license then it will amount to criminal offences and carries a penalty of around 20,000 or more. Similarly, breach of any HMO regulation also amounts to criminal offences and the culprit will be required to pay a fine of around 5,000 or more. Rules and Regulation under HMO As per the HMO act the concerned property should fulfill all the fire safety norms and regulation as specified by the government. Moreover, it should also obtain annual gas safety as well as electrical safety certificates from the concern local government authorities. The property should also have proper passages for the escape of the tenants in the event of any fire. So these are all important pieces of information informing you that your Houses in Multiple Occupancy need to be registered.
The Important Facts about Houses for Multiple Occupancy
