In its attempt to regulate the private letting industry and protect tenants from poor and potentially unsafe living conditions, landlords in some areas of the UK are now required to register their HMOs, and any landlord who fails to register a property being used as an HMO faces a large fine and a possible letting ban.
However, there has been an unexpected side effect of giving Local Authorities “Article 4” powers. Instead of paying for an expensive HMO licence, landlords are apparently deciding that the more sensible way forward is to convert their larger properties back to single-family occupancy rather than keep them as shared lets, which means some existing tenants already living in HMOs are being given their notice to quit.
Local residents are also finding that property prices are falling in areas affected by the Article 4 changes as fewer landlords are choosing to invest in property in the area. So despite having spent years campaigning for better controls on larger buy to let properties, local residents in popular university towns and cities are now unable to sell their large family properties because landlords aren’t buying any more.
One MP from Leeds is hoping to try and persuade the government to step in and kick-start the local housing market by purchasing HMOs for use as social housing. Whether he gains enough support from other councillors and local residents remains to be seen.
So if you’re a landlord with HMOs in areas affected by the Article 4 changes, are you pulling out of the HMO market? Let us know in the comments!
