There is quite a high chance you will need a licence to rent out your property in Ealing although you need to study the arrangements carefully as one of the licensing schemes only applies to part of the borough. We will try to explain.
On 1 January 2017, Ealing Council introduced a borough wide additional licensing scheme together with a selective licensing scheme that only covers part of the borough. Both schemes operate for five years until 31 December 2021.
There is also the mandatory HMO licensing scheme that applies across England. So in total, there are three separate licensing schemes.
We will try to help you choose the right licence for your property.
1. Mandatory HMO licence
You will need a mandatory HMO licence if your property meets the standard test, self-contained flat test or converted building test HMO definition in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 and is occupied by five or more people.
But what are these tests and what does this mean in practice? It means you need a licence for any house or flat that is occupied by five or more people who are not all related and live in the property as their main home. For example, it includes:
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Shared houses and flats occupied by students and young professionals;
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Properties converted into bedsits with some shared facilities; and
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Properties converted into a mixture of self-contained and non self-contained accommodation.
Prior to 1 October 2018, the mandatory HMO licensing scheme only applied to properties that were three or more storeys in height, but that restriction has now been lifted.
The government have decided to exclude purpose built self-contained flats within a block comprising three or more self-contained flats from the mandatory HMO licensing scheme. While this will be good news for some landlords, it does make the licensing scheme far more complicated.
To find out more, you can read our free guide to mandatory HMO licensing (here).
2. Additional licence
You will need an additional licence if your property is let as a House in Multiple Occupation that does not fall within the remit of the mandatory HMO licensing scheme but meets any of the following criteria:
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All HMOs that comprise two or more storeys and are occupied by four or more people who share facilities; and
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All HMOs in buildings containing a mixture of commercial and residential uses.
The House in Multiple Occupation definition is not straightforward and you will need to study it carefully or seek advice. For example, Ealing Council have included ‘section 257 HMOs’ within the additional licensing scheme. These are properties that:
a) have been converted into self-contained flats; and
b) less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied; and
c) the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply.
Fortunately, Ealing have restricted the licensing of section 257 HMOs to buildings where the number of flats exceeds the number of storeys in the building and where the building and all of the flats within it are either in the same ownership or considered by the council to be effectively under the same control.
We understand the restriction on the number of flats exceeding the number of storeys does not apply in mixed use developments, or above commercial premises. This is a complex area of law and you may need further advice.
3. Selective Licensing
You will need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single person, couple or single household and is located in the Council wards of Acton Central, East Acton, South Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green. Selective licences are also needed for HMOs in these areas that do not fall within the mandatory HMO or additional licensing schemes.
If you rent a property to a single household in other parts of the borough, the selective licensing scheme does not apply.
This adds another layer of complexity as most landlords won’t be familiar with the ward boundaries and neither will tenants or agents. To find out if your property is within the selective licensing area, you can use a postcode search facility on the council’s website.
In summary, if you rent out a House in Multiple Occupation in Ealing, it will need to be licensed if it meets their scheme criteria. If you rent out any other property, it will need to be licensed if it is in the Council wards of Acton Central, East Acton, South Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green.