{"id":248,"date":"2022-02-04T11:23:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T11:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getrentback.org\/blog\/?p=248"},"modified":"2022-02-04T11:29:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T11:29:33","slug":"248","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getrentback.org\/blog\/2022\/02\/04\/248\/","title":{"rendered":"Registers of Licensed Properties"},"content":{"rendered":"

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Housing Act 2004 (s232)* requires councils to keep a register of all properties that have been granted a licence to be let privately. This includes Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) under the mandatory licensing scheme, HMOs under any council-run additional licensing scheme and any property covered by a selective licensing scheme (so normally family\/single lets).<\/p>\n

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Why do the public need access to licence registers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The licensing regime in England is primarily to ensure minimum standards for occupants – its aim is safety and the protection of occupants from poor and dangerous conditions. Standards are established for properties to meet around:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>space<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>hygiene\/sanitation<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>electrical safety<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u25cf<\/span>fire safety <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is for good reason: sub-standard, even dangerous housing is more common in the private rented sector. HMOs are more likely to be dangerous for occupants [1] [2] and issues such as overcrowding are significantly more common in HMOs.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Transparency in public regulatory regimes is very important:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>It builds public awareness of – and confidence in – the processes and protections of the regime. It helps to hold the Local Authority (LA) to account for action on its housing policies\u2026a cynic might say this is why they are sometimes difficult to access!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>It enhances landlord awareness of – and compliance with – the processes and standards of the regime<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>It allows greater and wider scrutiny (by both citizens and pressure groups) allowing easier engagement with the regulation but also enabling the public to play a more active role in regulating their landlords (versus leaving this role solely with council enforcement officers)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>Letting agents can check that a property they are offering has been licensed<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>Tenants can check if a property they consider renting has met the necessary licensing requirements<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>Tenants already in a property can check whether their landlord has licensed the property and, if not, consider making a Rent Repayment Order (RRO) application. A recent NAO report noted: \u201cThe regulatory system relies heavily on tenants enforcing their own rights<\/em>\u201d [2]. The majority of Rent Repayment Orders are made by private citizens, not by councils. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Flat Justice believes the public should be able to easily access public information<\/strong> without any avoidable obstacles.<\/p>\n

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Can the public access HMO registers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The law requires the council to keep a register of HMO licences, and make this available at council offices for public inspection. The council must also supply a copy of the register to individuals who request it. Some councils will supply the HMO register free of charge via \u2018Freedom Of Information (FOI)\u2019 requests.<\/p>\n

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Some 80% of London councils give access to the register live on council websites, normally by having a spreadsheet or pdf file available for download and inspection.<\/p>\n

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(tenant tip: web search \u2018<name of your council> + HMO\u2019 to get to the page and then look for \u2018view HMO register\u2019 or similar)<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a spreadsheet of the data collected in October 2021 listing all London boroughs, the location of their licensing registers and dates the registers were updated.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Some councils do not enable public access via their websites to licensing registers<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

These councils do not have clear access to an HMO register on their websites: <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u27a2<\/span>Bromley<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u27a2<\/span>City of London<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u27a2<\/span>Croydon<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u27a2<\/span>Southwark<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u27a2<\/span>Sutton<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u27a2 Merton<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Some of these councils also charge unreasonable fees to get a copy of the register by email such as Sutton which charges members of the public \u00a325<\/span><\/a> to send an email! A high price for tenants of limited means, often the occupants of HMOs.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Especially given the COVID-19 pandemic but even prior to this – the requirement that councils want citizens to physically attend the council HQ to view the register is antiquated and impractical\u2026 and potentially discriminatory for those for whose mobility or travel is limited.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A member of the public may not be resident in the HMO themselves, for example, but still want to report a suspected unlicensed HMO to the council: they should not be charged for this helpful civic activity.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We believe in some instances lack of access to licensing registers has resulted in Rent Repayment Order applications being effectively suppressed. An example may be Sutton which does not share its HMO licence register on its website, has an excessive charge to receive it by email: no Sutton property RROs have been applied for since 2019 according to RRO FTT judgements uploaded to gov.uk<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Registers are often woefully out of date or inaccurate<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Making the licensing register public is one thing: keeping it up to date is quite another!<\/p>\n

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Many licensing registers we looked at were so outdated as to be next to useless for tenants that need to check the status of their property. One of our early pro bono RRO case appeals centred on the inaccuracies in the licensing register at a London borough, that shall be nameless (Greenwich), which had led to false information being given about the date of a licence application and was a direct cause of the RRO application failing at the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber (Residential Property) (FtT). The ensuing mess was a huge waste of time & resources: a travesty of justice for the hapless Applicant.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In our list below, for example, Kensington & Chelsea’s (RBKC) online HMO register<\/span><\/a> was last updated on 1st September 2020: nearly one & half years ago. On the same register we see that there were only 157 HMOs registered in the whole of RBKC in the last 7 years.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In a survey in 2019 by London Property Licensing<\/span><\/a>, RBKC estimated there were \u2018over 200\u2019 HMOs that were licensable. Whatever that means\u2026<\/p>\n

Neighbouring Brent, in the same survey, estimated there were 4831 licensable HMOs under the same Mandatory Licensing scheme in its borough. Clearly some boroughs have very little idea about (or interest in?) the number of unlicensed HMOs in their areas. The score of 157 licences on the RBKC register, compared to say Brent\u2019s current 9,211, including 2600 Mandatory HMO licences, shows again that some boroughs are taking licensing and enforcement far more seriously than others.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Flat Justice believes councils should:<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u25cf<\/span>Offer registers of licences granted in their borough for download on their websites<\/strong><\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\u25cf<\/span>Introduce measures to keep the registers reasonably up to date and accurate<\/strong><\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

There appears to be no good reason why full online access to registers is not provided by some councils.<\/p>\n

If you live in one of the boroughs where access to the register is not easily available we would invite you to write to the council to ask that they put their registers online.<\/p>\n

\n
\u27a2<\/span>Bromley: housing.enforcement@bromley.gov.uk or @LBofBromley<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u27a2<\/span>City of London: publicprotection@cityoflondon.gov.uk or @cityoflondon<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u27a2<\/span>Croydon: propertylicensing@croydon.gov.uk or @yourcroydon<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u27a2<\/span>Southwark: resi@southwark.gov.uk or @lb_southwark<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u27a2<\/span>Sutton: Environmentalhealth@sutton.gov.uk or @SuttonCouncil<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u27a2 Merton: ehhousing@merton.gov.uk or @Merton_Council<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many thanks to Chris, a client who volunteers with us, who wrote most of this article and collected the data!<\/p>\n

*The Housing Act 2004 s.232<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/a> requires council to keep a register of all licenses, temporary exemption notices and management orders of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(4) The authority must ensure that the contents of the register are available at the authority\u2019s head office for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(5) If requested by a person to do so and subject to payment of such reasonable fee (if any) as the authority may determine, a local housing authority must supply the person with a copy (certified to be true) of the register or of an extract from it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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[1] E.g. Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation, April 1999: You are six times more likely to die in a fire if you live in any house in multiple<\/span><\/p>\n

occupation (HMO), compared with a single family house. The risk increases to sixteen times more at risk of fatal injury if you live in an HMO which is 3 or more storeys high.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

[2] NAO report: Regulation of Private Renting<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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