In an attempt to drive up the standards of student properties in the city, Oxford City Council has changed the rules for landlords of smaller HMOs (houses of multiple occupancy). The new licensing scheme for shared houses is the first to be introduced in the UK, and since at least four thousand smaller properties in Oxford are currently let to groups of students, a lot of landlords will be affected by the change.
Each landlord of a small HMO must register his or her property with the council or risk being fined up to £20,000. Upon registration, a council team will then inspect the property to make sure it meets fire, health and safety regulations, and if it does, a HMO license will be issued. Tenants of smaller HMOs will also be given the opportunity to report their landlord if they deem their living conditions to be less than acceptable, and if a landlord is subsequently found to be in breach of the tough new guidelines, they could end up being taken to court and awarded a hefty fine.
Whilst some landlords might not be too pleased at the new scheme, it is definitely a step in the right direction for tenants living in Oxford. Houses of multiple occupancy have long been associated with sub-standard living conditions, which only serves to tarnish the reputation of decent landlords. Hopefully now the days of damp, squalid, and dangerously unsafe properties operated by cowboy landlords will soon be a dim and distant memory because, as one local councillor said, “there is nowhere left to hide…”
