{"id":96315,"date":"2018-10-05T08:30:05","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T08:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=5d15f552050f024e6cbb6631b7bfa328"},"modified":"2018-10-05T08:30:05","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T08:30:05","slug":"press-release-new-housing-rental-rules-to-protect-thousands-of-tenants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=96315","title":{"rendered":"Press release: New housing rental rules to protect thousands of tenants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New rules which will help protect at least 850,000 more people in privately rented homes from poor living conditions and overcrowding have come into force this month.<\/p>\n

All landlords who let out a property to 5 or more people \u2013 from 2 or more separate households that share facilities \u2013 must get a licence from their local housing authority.<\/p>\n

Previously, the rules only applied to properties of 3 or more storeys \u2013 but now all properties will be covered.<\/p>\n

The clampdown is one of a number of government measures to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of landlords provide decent accommodation, but these measures are about raising standards in private rented homes where landlords knowingly flout their responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Under the new rules, all bedrooms must be at least 6.5 square metres and councils must ensure tenants have suitable space to store their rubbish outside homes.<\/p>\n

Housing Minister Heather Wheeler MP said:<\/p>\n

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Everyone renting a home has the right to expect it is maintained to a decent standard.<\/p>\n

Extending licensing to 170,000 more properties will ensure people benefit from better quality accommodation across the country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There are currently around 60,000 licensable \u2018houses in multiple occupation\u2019 (HMOs<\/abbr>) but from today a further 170,000 will require licences.<\/p>\n

An estimated 4 million people live in private rented homes, and now at least 1.1 million who are in licensable HMOs<\/abbr> will benefit from the protection provided by HMO<\/abbr> licensing.<\/p>\n

Under the existing rules, enforcement officers in Brent, north-west London, raided an unlicensed 3-bedroom HMO<\/abbr> in September 2017, and found 35 men bedding down on mattresses in every room except the bathrooms.<\/p>\n

The property was raided after neighbours complained about overcrowding, anti-social behaviour and fly tipping.<\/p>\n

Advice for landlords<\/h2>\n

Before a landlord gets a HMO<\/abbr> licence, they must prove to the council they are a \u2018fit and proper\u2019 person and the property is of a suitable standard for the number of residents.<\/p>\n

Councils can put in place conditions about how the HMO<\/abbr> is managed.<\/p>\n

See advice on applying for a HMO<\/abbr> licence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All HMOs<\/abbr> with any number of storeys that have 5 or more tenants, who aren\u2019t related, and who share facilities like kitchens or lavatories, will require a licence from today.<\/p>\n

Landlords should speak to their council about getting a licence, or they could face enforcement action.<\/p>\n

If the HMO<\/abbr> already has a licence under a local authority \u2018additional or selective licensing\u2019 scheme, then the landlord will not need to apply for a new licence until it expires.<\/p>\n

The rules came into force on 1 October 2018.<\/p>\n

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Office address and general enquiries<\/h3>\n
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\n2 Marsham Street
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\nLondon<\/span>
\nSW1P 4DF<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

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\n Contact form<\/span>
\n http:\/\/forms.communiti…<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n General enquiries: please use this number if you are a member of the public<\/span>
\n 030 3444 0000\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Media enquiries<\/h3>\n
\n
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\n Email<\/span>
\n newsdesk@communities.gov.uk<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n Please use this number if you are a journalist wishing to speak to Press Office<\/span>
\n 0303 444 1209\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Social media – MHCLG<\/h3>\n
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Twitter – https:\/\/twitter.com\/mhclg<\/a>
Flickr – http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mhclg<\/a>
LinkedIn – http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mhclg<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Extending licensing to 170,000 more properties will ensure people benefit from better quality accommodation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96315"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}