Draft Licensing Of Houses In Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions Of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2018 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Mrs Heather Wheeler)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mrs Moon. I will be brief, because these regulations are excellent, and many people are in favour of them.

The private rented sector is an important part of our housing market that houses 4.5 million households in England. Houses in multiple occupation—HMOs—form a vital part of the sector and often provide cheaper accommodation for people whose housing options are limited. However, HMOs sometimes pose greater management challenges than single household occupation accommodation, and some occupiers of HMOs are the most vulnerable people in our society, which is why mandatory licensing of HMOs was introduced in 2004 for properties with three or more storeys that are occupied by five or more people.

Since its introduction more than a decade ago, mandatory licensing has successfully raised standards and enabled local authorities to tackle overcrowded conditions and poor management practices. However, the private rented sector has doubled in size in the past 10 years, which has led to increasingly small single household properties being used as HMOs.

As smaller HMOs were not subject to mandatory licensing, some rogue landlords have been able to avoid local authority detection and enforcement by letting HMOs with fewer than three storeys. Failures by those landlords have led to negative and harmful impacts on some local communities because of an accumulation of rubbish and waste and because of noisy and antisocial behaviour outside HMOs.

To address those problems, we have extended mandatory licensing to properties of fewer than three storeys. We laid the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018 before the House on 23 February, and it will come into force in October.

To address other common problems with such properties, the Government are creating two new mandatory HMO licence conditions: national minimum sizes for rooms used as sleeping accommodation and a requirement to comply with council refuse schemes. Those new mandatory conditions are the subject of the Committee’s debate, and I will outline each one in turn.

First, I will set out the proposed requirements for minimum room sizes for sleeping accommodation. By amending schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004, the regulations require local authorities to include new conditions with licences,

“to ensure that the floor area of any room in the HMO used as sleeping accommodation by one person aged over 10 years is not less than 6.51 square metres”.

The minimum room size is just that—a minimum. It is a standard below which a room cannot be used as sleeping accommodation. It is not intended to be the optimal room size or the lowest common denominator.

Let me be clear that local authorities will still be able to set minimum sleeping room sizes that reflect the layout, space and amenities in the HMO in question, which can be greater than 6.51 square metres when used by one person over 10 years old. That is important because local housing authorities will need the discretion to set a room size that reflects the condition of housing stock in their areas.

The introduction of a clear minimum room size in HMOs is important because it will ensure that a consistent minimum size is applied nationally across the different types of HMO in the sector, and it will clarify the standard with which we already expect landlords to comply. The regulations clarify minimum sizes for rooms used as sleeping accommodation by children under 10 years old and by two persons over 10 years old.

Non-compliance with the minimum room size is a serious matter. If a landlord knowingly breaches the condition, they will be liable on conviction of a criminal offence, which could result in an unlimited fine or a civil penalty of up to £30,000.

We have introduced transition arrangements to give landlords time to comply with the new requirement and to rectify overcrowding. Local authorities must allow up to 18 months before they consider prosecuting the landlord for breach of licence conditions. HMOs that are already licensed will have to comply with the condition only when their current licence expires and at the first renewal after 1 October this year.

The second new mandatory condition created by the regulations relates to household waste disposal facilities. A new mandatory condition will need to be included in HMO licensing to require landlords to comply with their local authority’s refuse storage and disposal schemes. The purpose of the condition needs some explanation. People living in separate households in HMOs tend to generate more rubbish than is seen in a single household property. While tenants should be responsible for properly disposing of their rubbish, they need adequate and accessible receptacles to do so. This mandatory condition of licensing will mean that local authorities will have to proactively require landlords to provide waste disposal facilities where there is a scheme. It will also provide local authorities with the necessary enforcement powers if landlords are not complying with waste disposal schemes.

We anticipate that the vast majority of landlords will already be in compliance with the conditions—we are simply clarifying existing space standards under section 326 of the Housing Act 1985. In 2015 and 2016, we consulted extensively on the introduction of minimum room sizes for sleeping accommodation, along with the requirement to comply with council refuse schemes. The legislation should therefore come as no surprise to local housing authorities and landlords alike. For those landlords not in compliance, there is the 18-month transition period I mentioned.

[Stephen Pound (Ealing North) (Lab)]

I am grateful for your tolerance, Mrs Moon, in allowing me to ask a question when I am not a member of this Committee. The Minister replied to my debate in Westminster Hall on 21 March, and I am grateful for her comments then and her comments today. The regulations mainly tidy things up, but they have not addressed the main issue with HMOs, which is their cumulative impact—the total change of a community in a residential district. Has she thought about extending the excellent work she has started today by finally coming to terms with the awful consequences of the cumulative impact of multiple HMO applications?

[Mrs Wheeler]

As the hon. Gentleman said, he is not a member of this Committee, but he has great interest in this matter. We are very keen to see licensing arrangements organised by local authorities kicking on and taking shape and power. They have the power to alter the licensing for their areas. There are four criteria that they have to comply with. As long as one or two of those strong criteria are well evidenced, our Department is keen to sign off on those arrangements, but the power lies with the local authority.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Wheeler]

I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. I will try to answer some of the questions if I can.

I should reiterate that the new minimum sleeping size is just that—a minimum. It will create a consistent standard that must be met across all HMOs. To be clear, in the example the hon. Member for Great Grimsby gave of two adults and a baby in the room, the minimum size for two adults is 10.22 square metres, which is reasonably large. Local housing authorities will still have discretion to set larger room sizes to reflect their conditions—I am sure local authorities will set standards to local conditions.

The mandatory conditions are necessary to enable local housing authorities to tackle overcrowded conditions and poor management practices in HMOs. On financing, local housing authorities have been aware of the changes for some time. We have consulted extensively. Some local authorities have been preparing in readiness to extend the scope of HMO licensing. HMO licensing is self-funding, and local housing authorities are able to recoup the cost of administering the scheme through licensing fees. I hope the hon. Member for Ealing North is pleased about that.

Poor housing conditions put the health, safety and welfare of tenants at risk and the Government are determined to tackle that. We want landlords in the sector to improve the standard of housing that they rent out, or to leave the sector entirely. We are being strong about that. I therefore recommend these regulations to the Committee.

Question put and agreed to.