HMO licence declined and I must now evict tenants?

HMO licence declined and I must now evict tenants?

14:16 PM, 15th October 2020, About 4 years ago 13

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A house has been used as an HMO, but after applying for a licence it was not granted and the instruction is to return the property to a single-family dwelling.

It is currently operated by a reputable sub-let company who rent individual rooms to mainly minimum wage workers from Eastern Europe. To comply with the Council’s requirement, each of the tenants would need to be given 2 months’ notice. However, the rents are very reasonable, and the tenants have no motivation to leave and try and find alternative accommodation.

The question of where help or advice would be very welcome is:

If one or more tenants refuse to leave after the 2 months has expired, what action can be taken in the current climate to evict them from the property to comply with the Council’s requirement?

Many thanks

Jonathan


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Comments

TrevL

14:42 PM, 16th October 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Robert Mellors at 16/10/2020 - 14:01
Hi Robert,

The point I was making is that, if it hasn't gone through planning and licensing then it is unlikely to have been suitably adapted.

A big driver of HMO licensing is fire safety, alongside the impact it has the neighborhood. And if it's breaching fire regulations, that can lead to jail terms for landlords and endangerment of tenants.

You're correct, original poster hasn't mentioned any of that, I was simply extrapolating a potentially bigger issue. Maybe the property is suitably adapted.....but the 'reputable' aub-let company don't seem big on compliance with the law.

raj beri

7:33 AM, 17th October 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by John Daley at 16/10/2020 - 10:54
Before you turf everyone out, I would challenge this - some councils accept 4 years of HMO proof. Work with a good landlords association

Jonathan

10:34 AM, 17th October 2020, About 4 years ago

I had hoped the 4-year rule would apply here but the LA introduced an Article 4 direction that removes permitted development rights(4 year rule) for change of use from a dwelling (Use class C3) to HMO (Use class C4). Therefore,
planning permission is required in every instance and because the LA want more family homes and fewer sharers, planning permission will be refused

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