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Ensuring your HMO is compliant and exceeds minimum standards in certain areas will be key moving forward in the private rented sector. But compliance can be confusing and difficult to keep up with, especially if you’re just getting started and as legislation continues to change!
HMO compliance is an absolutely essential part of setting up your portfolio, so you need to make sure you get this right and build solid foundations from the outset.
If you get the compliance piece wrong, you could be fined, have your licence revoked or be required to repay rent. So, here we’ll talk about how you can ensure your HMO is compliant and remains so moving forward!
Key HMO Compliance
Above all, we need to make sure our HMOs are safe and comfortable for all of our tenants. To help with that, there are certain standards we are required to meet and risk assessments to get undertaken.
When first setting up a property as a HMO, it must be compliant before renting the rooms out, and relevant legal requirements should also influence what properties you end up purchasing to turn into HMOs. Ensuring your properties remain compliant is also an ongoing process that will continue to evolve with new landmark legislation like the Renters Rights Act.
HMO compliance involves everything from health and safety and fire risk assessments to licensing and room sizes. Getting anything wrong in these areas can turn your HMO operation into an absolute nightmare!
So, be sure to not slip up with this or you could end up in a real heap of bother. Here are a few of the main areas you need to make sure you get right when it comes to HMO compliance!
Fire Safety
One of the most critical aspects of ensuring your HMO is compliant and safe for tenants involves fire safety. As HMOs have multiple households sharing common spaces and facilities, the risk of fire is higher than with standard buy-to-lets.
So, it’s essential that landlords and tenants are informed about any fire safety regulations and best practices. Below are some of the key aspects of fire safety in HMOs to help you protect your tenants and properties effectively!
Emergency Lighting
If there was a fire in the building, tenants may need to evacuate quickly. They could naturally be in a state of disorientation or stress, making it crucial to assess whether your HMOs require emergency lighting to help guide tenants safely and swiftly to exits.
If you add an emergency lighting system, it should be installed and maintained in line with BS 5266.
Fire Detection Systems
You must have a compliant fire detection system for any HMO. The type of system you need will depend on the size and specific use of your property. So, spend the time finding out what kind is appropriate for your building.
For example, a Grade A – Fire Panel System consists of individual smoke/heat detectors, alarm sounders and a central control panel. These are all run on backed up power.
A Grade D – Mains powered interlinked system has one or more fire detectors powered by a main supply and with battery powered tamper proof standby supply.
Fire Fighting
HMOs also need to be equipped with appropriate firefighting tools. The basic requirement is to have a fire blanket in each kitchen or in bedrooms if there are cooking facilities. It’s also recommended that a multi-purpose extinguisher is installed on each floor of your HMOs.
Specific requirements may vary depending on your property, so it’s crucial to conduct a fire risk assessment to determine any firefighting equipment you may need.
Compartmentation
To help prevent the spread of a fire, correct and undamaged compartmentation is key. Requirements could be different depending on the size of your HMO. For starters, you need to have a protected route of escape and fire doors.
With a protected route of escape, you need a pathway or corridor that is appropriately safeguarded from fire. This should provide a safe passage for tenants to exit the property in the event of an emergency.
Additionally, rooms adjacent to the escape route should have fire doors. All risk rooms will need to have FD30 fire doors. These doors should be purchased as complete assemblies and fitted by a qualified fire door installer who can certify the door after installation.
Fire Safety Management
It is also your responsibility as a HMO landlord that fire safety is effectively managed within all of your properties. Each of your properties need to have a written emergency plan, and this must be provided to all tenants. In it, you should outline all the steps to take in the event of a fire, including:
- Steps you’ve taken to explain fire detection and evacuation procedures to all new tenants
- Advise tenants on things to remember during a fire
- Contact details for emergency services and the emergency numbers for public utilities
- Contact details for agent or landlord
- Advise tenants on their obligation to not tamper with fire detection systems, fire doors and self-closing devices and where all shut-off valves are located
Fire Risk Assessment
Landlords are required to have a written fire risk assessment completed by a competent professional, and it needs to be reviewed periodically. This will help identify any fire safety issues that could be causing you to breach the Regulatory Reform Order.
Amenity Standards
If your HMO requires a licence, there are a number of amenity standards that you must meet. Minimum standards are set nationally. However, local authorities can require a higher standard.
Amenity standards are designed to ensure tenants have a pleasant living experience and protect them from harm. Below is some guidance on the key areas you’ll need to comply with, but be sure to check any specific guidance from your local authority.
Room Sizes: Ensure spaces within your HMO, particularly bedrooms and kitchens, meet certain minimum sizes defined by the central government or local council.
Space & Layout: In HMOs, there must be enough space for each tenant, and the layout of the property must be easy and safe for everyone to navigate.
Fire Safety: As we spoke about earlier, you must have an adequate fire escape route, along with smoke detectors and fire alarms in your HMOs.
Lighting & Ventilation: There needs to be adequate natural light and ventilation, and there should be no damp or mould issues. This is something you’ll have to keep an eye on during property health checks and inspections.
Sanitation & Facilities: There is a requirement to have adequate washing and toilet facilities, and your property must also be hygienic and clean.
Furnishings & Equipment: There must be enough beds, chairs and other types of furnishings for every tenant in your HMO. You also need to ensure certain equipment is provided and that they are in good working order like fridges and cookers.
As HMOs often require special licences, you’ll need to gather necessary documents, submit applications and renewals, and keep in mind that each council can have its own set of rules and guidance. If you have any questions about the requirements in your area, reach out to your local authority.
Health & Safety
HMOs also are required to meet health and safety standards set by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Problems like mould, damp or poor insulation can lead to enforcement action, and this is getting stricter in the private rented sector with the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law as part of the Renters Rights Act.
How to Get HMO Compliance Right
As a landlord, ensuring you understand how to make your HMOs compliant not just for today but also moving forward within the changing industry is crucial. You have to understand the latest legislation and all of your legal obligations.
There are things you can do to help you get this part of owning a HMO right. So, here are some of my top tips to help you do just that!
- Consider using property management software.
Using technology across your HMO business can allow you to remain compliant and help you keep up with recurring tasks and activities and requirements as a landlord. You can also track tenant complaints, maintenance and repairs and automate tenant communication.
COHO, our partner property management software, can help landlords ensure that every room in their HMOs are up to the required standard, simplifying the work landlords need to do and improving the living experience for tenants. Learn more about COHO and how it can help you here.
- Work with the right professionals on your power team.
When it comes to the increasing regulatory obligations and ongoing pressures HMO landlords are facing, there will continue to be challenges across the industry. But working with experienced professionals can help you improve the operation of your portfolio and ensure your properties remain compliant and profitable – no matter what comes your way!
Having a strong power team around you is essential as it really is impossible to do everything on your own. We have highly recommended HMO community partners to help support you at every stage of your HMO investment journey.
Moving forward there are still plenty of opportunities for HMO landlords with the right support. Look into the professionals who can provide key services to help you manage your HMOs, such as a managing agent if you’re not going to self manage or a virtual assistant who could help you stay on top of compliance pieces and liaise with the council on your behalf.
Working with these kinds of professionals can help your HMOs remain compliant and boost your service offering. If you do this right, you’ll also be better placed to deal with the upcoming industry changes and create a more sustainable HMO business.
- Boost your knowledge in the industry.
It’s really important that you stay up-to-date with all of the latest legislation and your legal obligations. You’ll need to keep learning about property management and any changes to best practice.
We should always be trying to improve and expand our knowledge, so it can be beneficial to invest in property education to help you with this! There are a range of products and services out there that can help you.
You can start by taking advantage of free resources like listening to The HMO Podcast, and then you could look at investing in e-learning platforms like The HMO Roadmap, which provide resources, knowledge, templates and step-by-step plans.
Inside the Roadmap, there is even a course section dedicated to legislation and property management, so sign up today to start boosting your knowledge in this part of investing in HMOs!
And if you have questions about any part of HMO investment, join us over in our free Facebook Group The HMO Community! It’s a great space for growing, learning and supporting each other in the HMO industry. See you there!
About the Author:
Andy Graham is the founder and the lead trainer at The HMO Roadmap! He is also the co-founder of The HMO Mastermind, writes as a regular columnist in different magazines about a variety of HMO topics and is the host of The HMO Podcast! Follow Andy on Instagram!