Managing an HMO

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HMO landlord guide

We have produced an HMO landlord guide to help landlords and agents meet their legal responsibilities.

Minimum HMO standards

The Government has set a number minimum standards which licensed HMOs must comply with by law. These include provision of cooking and washing facilities, and minimum bedroom sizes.

We have adopted these into our HMO standards policy. We apply this policy to all HMOs in Barnet, whether licensable or not, to ensure all shared houses meet basic minimum standards.

HMO Management Regulations

Landlords, agents and tenants of all types of HMO must comply with the HMO Management Regulations.

The HMO Management Regulations require the manager to keep all parts of the HMO safe, clean and well maintained. Tenants of HMOs must cooperate with the manager and not damage any fire safety equipment.

It is an offence not to comply with any of the HMO Management Regulations.

Buildings which are converted into flats without the right Building Control checks are a special type of HMO which have their own Management Regulations

Hazards

All HMOs must be free from serious hazards as assessed by means of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System

HMO licence conditions

Most HMOs require a licence.

The licence holder must ensure that they comply with all of:

  • their licence conditions
  • the HMO Management Regulations
  • relevant requirements throughout the lifetime of the licence, such as keeping your contact details up-to-date and sending in copies of safety certificates when they are due

It is an offence not to comply with any licence conditions and enforcement action may be taken against you.

HMO Enforcement Policy

The regulatory service enforcement policy explains the borough's approach to it’s use of enforcement powers. These can range from criminal prosecutions to informal action and advice.