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 covered part of the borough. Both schemes ended on 31 December 2021.
The council have approved new additional and selective licensing schemes which came into force on 1 April 2022.
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
The previous additional licensing scheme ended on 31 December 2021. A new additional licensing scheme started on 1 April 2022.
The new scheme applies to most HMOs in the London Borough of Ealing. You will need an additional licence if the property is occupied by three or more people who are not all related and share (or lack) a toilet, personal washing facilities or cooking facilities.
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 their new 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 Council have restricted the licensing of section 257 HMOs to buildings containing three or more flats where all the flats are privately rented and the building and all of the flats within it are in the same ownership or control, or considered by the council to be effectively under the same control.
Until 31 December 2021, the previous additional licensing scheme was restricted to HMOs that comprised two or more storeys and were occupied by four or more people. It also included section 257 HMOs where the number of flats exceeded the number of storeys in the building and where the building and all of the flats within it were either in the same ownership or considered by the council to be effectively under the same control.
3. Selective Licence
The previous selective licensing scheme ended on 31 December 2021. A new selective licensing scheme started on 1 April 2022.
You will need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single household or two unrelated sharers, and is in the council wards of East Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green based on the pre May 2022 ward boundaries. Selective licences are also needed for HMOs in these areas that are 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. You can use the postcode search facility on the council’s website to check if your property in within the selective licensing area.
Until 31 December 2021, the previous selective licensing scheme covered the five council wards of Acton Central, East Acton, South Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green. The new scheme covers a smaller geographical area.
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 East Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green based on the pre-May 2022 ward boundaries.