Dominic Raab may only have been in post for a matter of weeks, but he is already making major announcements that will impact huge numbers of landlords across the UK.
He announced this week that the Government are planning to introduce the HMO rules extension in October, regulations which will see mandatory licensing introduced for properties – regardless of height – that are occupied by five or more people, from two or more households.
The rules will also introduce minimum room sizes for bedrooms, with rooms used for sleeping by one adult not being able to be any smaller that 6.51 square meters, and those slept in by two adults no smaller than 10.22 square meters. If the room is to be used by a child, it can be no smaller than 4.64 square meters.
Local councils will have the power to enforce rules to ensure that landlords are complying with bedroom size regulations, and ensure that only rooms that meet the new standard are used for sleeping.
The Government proposes to extend the scope of mandatory houses in multiple occupation (HMO) licensing, so that a licence is required for HMOs with five or more occupiers. We published our response to our HMO reforms consultation in December 2017, and we plan to lay the necessary regulations before Parliament shortly with a view to bringing them into force (subject to approval) in October 2018.
Dominic Raab
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