Minimum room size for HMO?

Reply to the comment left by GLee at 16/06/2023 – 23:51Also, I too have a 4 bedroom in Lambeth, which is currently in a queue for an HMO license. The 4th ‘box’ bedroom is 8.4 sq.m (which satisfies national standards, but not local ones). In the past, where I advertised as a 3 bed to 3 sharers, I found out (via neighbours) after they moved in, that they invariably sublet the 4th bedroom without my knowledge (there is no way I can stop them anyway, and I have to give 24 hour notice to inspect). This is presumably to share the burden of the rent. Their choice, not mine …..

As a HMO Landlord for many decades, I would never go below, 9 Sq M, never mind going to 6.
5 and I would be embarrassed to offer a room below 6.5!
I’m all for a profit and extract the most from my developments, but your question never entered my mind!
G Lee, even for you personally were on a low budget – how would you personally or anyone in your family feel about living in room of 6.5 never mind going smaller that this size?

The minimum sizes are there for good reason. I think 6.5m2 is fair enough as a minimum. The question is does a local authority have the power to set their own minimum standards higher than the legislation. Surely that’s what the legislation was created for in 2018

Profoundly disagree with the last two comments. The rooms we let to single people marginally under 6.5 m always let very quickly never any voids and were loved by the tenants because they were so cheap. With a great shortage of property, this must be the priority, making every possible room available. People will not rent what they do not want. With the change of rules, we have no choice, but to evict everybody and sell properties with one of the rooms, less than the size. Absolutely wrong with a shortage of property to make the problem worse by this rule. Remember, the rooms already exist.

I would love to know what would happen if you told a tenant in a room that was too small that they had to leave and they refused. At the moment you could serve a Section 21 ‘No fault’, but in 18 months time, you wouldn’t be able to do this as there has been no discussion within the Renters Reform Bill of there being a preserved ground for eviction just because the council have invoked some rules of their own.
In fact, if you tried to evict the tenant without having the necessary grounds in law, wouldn’t such an eviction be unlawful?

Local government does not work. Pointless local legislation to decrease rooms and increase rent. Yet, none of this nonsense applies to university accommodation. Look at some room sizes at UCL. Why are they not deemed unrentable?

Council set room sizes are advisory and can be challenged.

Reply to the comment left by David at 17/06/2023 – 18:53
Certainly can be challenged if there’s history of letting as shared house/hmo, but very difficult to challenge if converting / applying for a licence on the basis it’s a new HMO.

Reply to the comment left by Simon F at 17/06/2023 – 19:54
Wowzer….guys what’s going on here….I am no moral crusader, but I would be embarrassed to even think about challenging this to go to court to effectively try put a human into a room below 6.5 which isn’t a room in my mind fit for any human.

I’m a developer who tries to profit from each development, but we should not be even having this conversation – this is why we landlords get a bad rap!

I also notice the person who started this thread, didn’t reply when I asked him if even if he was on a low budget himself – would he or any of his family be happy living in a room below 6.5m room?

Lets end this conversation about making rooms even smaller than the surprisingly small legal size of 6.5m even smaller!

This is a crazy thread and let’s have a thread about making a law about having a min of 8 SQM and I speak from (not a Shelter paid up member) but the perspective of being a HMO developer 30+ years in the business!

My smallest room is 9 SQ M…

Now and I am not “Mr Morally Perfect” but can any of you imagine living in a room below 6.5 SQ M even if it’s London and you are on a tight budget – it’s just not right!

Reply to the comment left by F1_Fan at 18/06/2023 – 10:54
So what do you say to all my tenants who when asked about the tiny rooms are extremely grateful and delighted to rent them happy to rent them I never force anybody to rent them and they love the fact that they are where they want to live at the price they can afford to live at. I’d be very interested in what you would say to these people. Remember, these are existing rooms that were built decades ago but otherwise would have to remain empty forcing up the price of other rooms.