Mandatory HMO licensing to be extended

Can someone please explain.

As part of this overhaul of the HMO rules the government is also planning to impose a mandatory minimum size for bedrooms in HMOs. Rooms used for sleeping by one adult will have to be no smaller than 6.51 square metres and those slept in by two adults will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres.

The government is now imposing new regulations on the PRS with a zeal that would make any socialist proud.

To be clear what this means, where a tenant has agreed to rent a small bedroom from a landlord, perhaps because the tenant is on a tight budget or spends little time in their room, when the licence is renewed the tenancy must end and the tenant will lose their home and perhaps become homeless.

It is an obvious statement of fact that the tenant chose this property because for their budget it was the best option they could find. So every time you remove from supply a room that a tenant wanted to rent, you remove the best option for that tenant, which must mean that tenant is now having to settle for a less attractive option. Moreover, because you will be removing some of the cheapest options, many tenants may find they cannot afford any alternatives, so will become homeless, which is an appalling consequence.

For a country with a shortage of housing it is nothing short of scandalous that a Conservative government is actively seeking to reduce housing supply in the PRS by telling landlords and tenants what they can and can’t agree to, all under the guise of support ‘vulnerable’ tenants from ‘exploitative’ landlords.

We clearly now have a Conservative government that no longer believes in consumer choice but rather favours bureaucrats determining how and where people live.

Reply to the comment left by Rob Thomas at 01/03/2018 – 12:11
It is indeed hard to believe that in the middle of a housing crisis any government would actively seek to reduce supply with arbitory constraints.

Reply to the comment left by Rob Thomas at 01/03/2018 – 12:11
Great summary Rob!
Not only that, the LA may force all the remaining rooms to have wash-hand basins, again even if there is little market demand, and no previous complaints in existing HMOs. Will the new basins make renting those rooms more affordable?

This government are incompetent and guilty of massively damaging the PRS for tenants and landlords alike. They will in the end be responsible for substantial homelessness and a significant increase in poverty throughout the country. Of course they will try to lie their way out and blame landlords for their own despicable behaviour. Never ever trust dirty self centred lying politicians such as these.

I am appalled at this Governments ignorance. In every situation, all I see is ‘free fall stupidity’.
Landlords are now treated as an enemy but some of these changes adversely affect the darling tenants as well.
To rule on the minimum size of a bedroom is ridiculous and will turn tenants out on the street, the very thing the Government wants to stop.
If this was made illegal in private homes millions would be prosecuted.
Why is a tenant always considered so much more important than a private house holder.
God knows it could even be worse with those other morons in charge.

I’m not against a statutory minimum room size. I have lived in a very small room in the past and it’s not a nice thing. That said, why are LA’s allowed to put vunerable families into tiny rooms just because it’s called a bedsit! Perhaps a change.org partition is needed to force the government to change social housing regulation as well……..dream on!

Reply to the comment left by Terry Pearce at 03/03/2018 – 19:58
Terry
When you lived in a small room it must have been the best option available to you at the time otherwise you would have chosen another option presumably. A small room in a pleasant house might be a much better option for some people than a larger room in a dump.

The principle here is, do we believe in personal choice or do we believe we are all so stupid we need the government to tell what kind of accommodation is good for us.

Hi Rob
It was the only option avaialble to me mainly due to the lack of anything else being available when I needed a room. Good point about a small but nice room in a good house. The rent was low which enabled me to save for a deposit to buy a house. It took two years of saving every penny I could. Worth it though as my wife and I now have four houses, three of which are let.

Reply to the comment left by Richard Peeters at 01/03/2018 – 12:52
Very good point Richard
I’ve never once had a tenant say they wanted a wash basin in their room and I’ve been a landlord for nearly 30 years. It can add thousands to a landlord’s costs and reduces the resale value of the property because wash basins in bedrooms are frankly down market.

This issue seems to have come about because some LAs are too stupid to understand the difference between a self-contained bedsit and a shared house.