Live in Landlord is this an HMO

[londongirl]

Good evening everyone. I own a large house 5 bedroom property which I live in and would like to rent out four of the rooms to individuals. my questions are:

Would they be classed as lodgers and would I be governed by any regulations?

Would I need an HMO licence?

Thank you

Londongirl

[Matthew Moody]

Hi "Londongirl"

Difficult question this one which is subject to interpretation by the local housing team.

You don't say how many stories the property is which is generally where the crux of the licencing comes into play.

3-stories and more

AND

5 or more unrelated tenants

= mandatory licence.

I'm no legal expert and our resident legal beagle will be able to give more guidance on what constitutes a "lodger" but see the government definitions

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_4017804

So, to be on the safe side, give your local council a bell. If you do need a licence, then be prepared for fire doors, fire alarm system, emergency lighting etc.

best regards
Matthew

[jeffrey]

But OP will be a resident landlord.

[kikuyu]

But OP will be a resident landlord.

But the tenancies/licences will create multi-occupancy and it will no longer be a single household.

Best to check with your LA.

[Preston]

Good evening everyone. I own a large house 5 bedroom property which I live in and would like to rent out four of the rooms to individuals. my questions are:

Would they be classed as lodgers and would I be governed by any regulations?

Would I need an HMO licence?

Thank you

Londongirl

Hi

If you charge them rent and give each of them exclusive possession of a room in your house, but do not provide additional services such as cleaning or meals, then they will be ordinary contractual tenants. As such they will have less security than assured shorthold tenants. This leaflet is available online at the directgov website and gives you lots of good information:

Letting rooms in your home
A guide for resident landlords

Matthew Moody is right that you should also look into the HMO issue. Even if you do not come within the national compulsory registration scheme, you may be caught by a local one, so you should check with your local council.

With regard to your obligations generally, bear in mind that they will be much the same as if the tenancy were an assured shorthold, except those provisions relating to possession (it is normally easier for resident landlords to obtain possession) and deposits (resident landlords do not have to protect deposits).

So, have a read through the various information sheets on this site to get a feel for what your obligations might be.

Good luck.

Preston

[LandlordLee]

they would be lodgers though wouldn't they? it's one perhaps you should ask your local HMO team

[Matthew Moody]

Maybe it would be worth having a STICKY on the top of this section related to "Advice on HMO's" as it seems a lot of the questions coming in recently have been about - is my house a HMO, do I have to register, do I need to have fire alarms etc - all of which to be honest, we can answer generically but I will always refer them to the local council as they are best placed to give this advice.

What do you think? Anybody else agree?

I don't mind writing something up if you want me to? let me know.
Matthew

[jeffrey]

Better: contact Editor to add FAQ replies to LZ's list of these.

[obiindy]

the answers are in the Guidence notes for you Council area, i would guess its a HMO but im working for the notes i have to work with for my area.