Private address required for HMO Licence!

John,
the answer is very simple: ask him to cite
the Act and the section of the Act which
requires this precise information. The onus is
on him ( and the Local Authority) to justify
this demand.

Reply to the comment left by "Tony McVey" at "07/06/2014 - 19:00":

Yes absolutely Tony, i did go back to him exactly as you suggested and asked him to show where in law does it stipulate this condition and 'hey presto' four hours later (clearly after consulting his superiors) came back and agreed to accept my office address.

Lesson learnt = 'dont take everything a HMO officer says as gospel. Negotiate and challenge where appropriate'

Hi John,

The Council needs an address solidly connected to you for the issue of the Licence and any official paperwork.

You may be surprised to learn that there are a number of landlords who refuse to supply addresses or give false addresses to LA officers.

My view is that the address should be the most sensible one in terms of your business. If you have an office that you attend regularly to do your business whatever it is that is OK, otherwise a home address. If the address you give is a PO Box or a cover to conceal your actual location then the LA is right to refuse to accept it.

The data collected in Licensing is confidential and should not be released to anyone else.

Note if you are an remote LL you may wish to record your contact details with the land registry anyway to avoid the class of fraud where a [criminal] tenant uses forgery and impersonation to transfer the property into their name.

Hi, it's Kev from AA Properties. PRIVATE ADDRESS - NEVER! I recently had a tenant phoning me an hour after I fixed his leak where his cats jumped on the pipes. He called ma a "Paki Bxxstard! and threatened me down the phone with my 10 yr old child in the back of my car. I was shocked, taped his conversation of threats against me, had him arrested, evicted in 2 weeks, got him before a judge, and sentenced. I'm a former boxer, but always call the police when threatened, that works..or not. RETALIATION. We live with this. If a council officer insists on your home address I ask him/her for theirs. When I speak to the council I always tell them that as our conversations are recorded I am putting it on record that my home address is my office address and they MUST NOT SUPPLY this information to any outside sources or they will be sued. Do not trust a tenant's smiles, trust his guarantor, trust his guarantor's home, secure your future for all the hard work you do, your children deserve that chance.

I have a number of licensable HMOs and my local council has put my home address on each HMO certificate which I am required to display at each property so tenants will be able to read this. Personnally I do not find this a problem as my tenants already have my home address. I am not sure it they would have allowed me to use any other address. My local council also has a register of HMOs which can be viewed online and this just shows the property address but not the owners details, however I believe any member of the public can request a fuller version of the register from them (if they pay a fee) which does include the details of the owners.

Anyone can obtain a list of licensed HMO licensee's from the local council in question. Some councils have the information on their website in plain view, some councils will take a few weeks to give you the information as it comes under the Freedom Of Information Act. Currently I have to provide my home address on any AST's that I issue. I can't see the problem of your tenants knowing where you live. Unless you give your tenants a reason to dislike you it. Screen your tenants to try to edit out any undsirables.

John Kelly's result (see his entry on 8 June) shows landlords are *not* obliged to supply their home address. Of course many landlords may be willing to give their home address, but I think they will quickly change their mind if they ever encounter a tenant (or former tenant) who starts threatening them or being vindictive.

Companies House distinguishes between a company's registered address, its service address and directors' residential addresses:

"A service address is one that can be used by a director to receive communications from third parties about the company. The service address can be the same as the person's residential address, or the registered office address of the company, or it can be somewhere different.

A usual residential address is the usual home address of the director concerned. It still has to be filed with the [Companies House] Registrar but it will not be available on the public record for everyone to see and will be held on a private register only available to predetermined organisations."
(see section 8 of http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gp1.shtml#ch1)

I see no reason why if this arrangement is good enough for companies, it shouldn't also apply to landlords, who are self-employed citizens running a small business.

Register of Licences - Housing Act 2004

203. A local authority has a duty to establish and maintain a register of licences
granted under Parts 2 and 3 of the Act which are in force.
204. The register should include the following details for licences issued under
Parts 2 and 3:
• the name and address of the licence holder
• the name and address of the person managing the licensed HMO or house
• the address of the licensed HMO or house
• a short description of the licensed HMO or house
• a summary of the conditions of the licence
• commencement date and duration of the licence
• summary information of any matter concerning the licensing of the
HMO or house that has been referred to RPT or to the Lands Tribunal,
and
226 Section 68(7) and (8). 227 Section 68(9). 228 Section 232 (1) NB local authorities are also required to keep a register of Temporary Exemption Notices and Management
Orders. 229 See Regulation 11(1) of SI 2006/373 “The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006”
205. The register should also include the following additional details for licences issued under Part 2 and 3:
• number of storeys comprising the licensed HMO
• number of rooms in the licensed HMO providing sleeping and living
accommodation
• in the case of a licensed HMO consisting of flats, the number of flats
that are self contained and that are not self contained
• Description of shared amenities including the numbers of each amenity,
and
• the maximum number of persons or households permitted to occupy
the licensed HMO under the conditions of the licence
206. The register can be presented in any such form the local authority
considers appropriate, and must be made available for public inspection at
the local authorities head office at all reasonable times. A local authority
must supply a copy of the register or an extract of the register on request
and may charge a reasonable fee for doing so

Reply to the comment left by "Mary Latham" at "22/06/2014 - 13:08":

So no mention of home address is confirmed.
.