Landlords are being warned to watch out for councils adding on illegal charges
for HMO licences. HMO and tenancy deposit lawyers are concerned that some
local authorities are illegally charging landlords with HMOs extra fees for
administration costs and inspections when all they are allowed by law to
charge is the cost of the actual HMO licence.
Widespread Problem
Councils are not averse to adding on extra fees wherever they can get away
with it, as a recent High Court case has proven. A group of shop owners
objected to being charged extra fees that were not related to their original
licence application. Thankfully for landlords, the ruling from that case also
affects them, so if you have recently received a bill from your local
authority in respect of an HMO licence application, you should look at it
carefully.
Property Tribunal Decision
Oxford City Council has already had a go at illegally charging landlords extra
fees. One landlord in the city was so incensed at being asked to pay a licence
fee variation charges that he consulted a lawyer. The lawyer tried to recover
the fees from the council, but they refused to backtrack. So the lawyer took
matters further and the case was heard in front of a Residential Property
Tribunal. The landlord won and the council was informed that their fees were
illegal.
Unlawful Fees
So if you were charged any extra fees when you applied for a licence from your
local council in order to operate an HMO property, the charges may be
unlawful.
