Seems like councils are cracking down everywhere on “rogue” landlords.
Day after day, I get alerts of this council and that council “cracking down” on the landlord community.
Whilst I applaud and uphold the need to meet health and safety standards, it does seem that HMO landlords appear to be getting a bad name from a few rogues who cannot be bothered to implement the required regulations.
My top tips for meeting the required regulations are:
- ensure that what is being asked of you is fair and still valid (ie there is no need for washhand basins in every bedroom now; this was revoked last October)
- ensure that you get at least three quotes for work that needs doing – and in the case of electricians, make sure they have NIEC or Part P qualifications
- if cashflow is an issue, work with the council and fire departments to schedule the work in a timely manner that meets the immediate urgent requirements but allows you enough time to find the funds for all the work (after all, most landlords don’t have a spare £5,000 available to just put in a fire alarm system, fire doors and the like)
- be reasonable, work with the councils and fire departments and you will find that they are just people doing their jobs and relationships developed now will serve you well in the future
I would always recommend speaking to the local housing team or HMO officers before you buy in an area to make sure you understand what is happening, what their expectations are and to start putting names to faces as soon as possible.
That way, its not going to be you that the councils are cracking down on.