Landlords must pay well over £700 for entry into what is now the UK’s largest ever HMO licensing scheme, at Westminster in central London.
Some £705 is payable on application for the five-year long scheme and then £270 once the application is approved - landlords who pay upfront get both fees combined for £795.
A higher fee is charged for HMOs classified by Westminster council as Section 257s - buildings that have been converted into flats where more than a third of the flats are rented out, or where the building does not comply with the 1991 Building Regulations or later regulations that applied if the building was converted after June 1 1992.
A 10 per cent fee reduction is available for those in the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme.
Westminster council’s scheme will focus on the 9,000-plus HMOs across the whole of the central London borough; smaller house and flat shares will now require a licence if they are occupied by three or more people forming more than one household.
Westminster claims that a recent study found that poor housing standards are far more likely to be found in the HMO sector, with the council having to make 25,341 interventions between 2016 and 2018.
The new policy will set a common standard across the borough, raising housing standards and supporting residents.
The main aims of the licensing scheme include increasing housing standards for HMOs, providing minimum standards for properties and selectively targeting interventions at properties affected by “poor tenancy management, the need for repairs, fire safety hazard, and anti-social behaviour.”
The council says the scheme will also protect tenants “from the negative social and health effects of poorly managed and maintained properties, and reducing inequality of housing.”
Westminster councillor Heather Acton says: “We want to ensure our residents and communities are living in the highest standards possible in Westminster. The Additional Licensing Scheme gives us a greater ability to monitor and regulate this specific part of the housing sector.
“The scheme puts the safety of our residents first, protecting private rented tenants living in shared properties from poorly managed and badly maintained housing.
“This helps Westminster have good accommodation so that it is a diverse and desirable place where people want to live. It will help the sector create sustainable tenancies with empowered tenants and reputable landlords.”
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What are they talking about other Boroughs charging up to & over £1400. Applications fees already. How can they talk about poor management when they have removed LL ‘s rights leaving him without the authority to manage and excluding him from his property, how can you have responsibility without authority. The 10% discount for Accreditation only applies once you loose it on renewal it’s just another cursed nuisance for LL’s that have been doing it for decades but now have to learn how to do it, yes they’ll have a feather in their cap a piece of paper stick their crest out but able to do nothing practical to improve housing. In short the Westminster scheme is yet another multi million pound money grab and a fraud on Private LL’s.
The reality, Michael, is that is a multi million pound money grab and fraud on private tenants. When HMO licensing came into force a couple of years ago down here, rents all rose across the board to accommodate.
The council will charge it we will increase the rent to the tenant and you will be happy
I must be one of the largest license holders in the UK and have yet to understand the benefit of licensing. Councils have the power to check on all properties licensing does not help in anyway. Licencing does the opposite, it takes up enormous amount of time and contrary to what most landlords say, the cost to the council of licensing is far more than the license fees. It is a beast that devoures its creator, takes away Council resources from dealing with bad properties and the Council spend their time over inspecting good landlords.
I have lost count of the number of times Housing standard inspectors say to me, 'once they have finished dealing with license applications they will go out and chase up the landlords who have not licensed'. What happens? I see them again and they're busy renewing licenses!
Jim Haliburton
The HMO daddy
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