10. Why is Arun District Council considering implementing additional HMO licensing?

Concerns have been raised that the increase in the number of HMOs, especially smaller ones that do not currently require a mandatory licence and section 257 HMOs is resulting in poorer quality accommodation.

Arun District Council’s Vision 2022-2026 sets out that we will be “delivering the right homes in the right places” and that to achieve this, amongst other measures, the council will “ensure the existing housing stock in the district (private sector and council owned) is maintained to a high standard”.

In 2020 Full Council asked officers to look at the quantity and quality of HMOs in wards where there were high concentrations of such properties. This initial research was undertaken on behalf of the council by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

At the Housing and Customer Services Working Group meeting on 5 November 2020 councillors recommended to continue to research and gather further evidence to help establish whether additional HMO licensing or selective licensing of the private rented sector was justified.

This decision was approved by Cabinet on 14 December 2020 and officers instigated the process of procuring the services of a company to undertake the required additional research and provision of a supporting report. This was again undertaken by the BRE on behalf of the council.

A report on options for introducing further controls on the quality of houses in multiple occupation was presented to the Environment Committee on 14 July 2022. The committee agreed to instigating the consultation process for a proposed additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation, including section 254 and section 257 HMOs, for the Marine, Hotham and River wards.

The committee also recommended to the Policy and Finance Committee and Full Council that additional resources be approved to support the consultation process required to implement the additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation.

At the Policy and Finance Committee meeting on 6th September 2022 the committee resolved to recommend to Full Council that the additional resources to support the consultation process required to implement the additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation be agreed. The proposal was welcomed as it was recognised that anything that could be done to enhance the quality of HMOs and to ensure that the services around them were adequate to cater for the number of people residing in HMOs was a positive move. The resolution was agreed by Full Council on 29 September 2022.

The BRE final report concluded that, based upon the modelled data, there was sufficient evidence to support the introduction of an additional HMO licensing scheme in Arun. The analysis indicates that conditions in many of these properties, where sharing of cooking, washing or toilet facilities is happening or where a building has been converted without Building Control approval into self-contained flats, may be below acceptable standards. However, these poor conditions are being missed as these properties are seldom or never inspected, except upon receipt of individual complaints and therefore on a purely reactive basis. Detailed analysis of HMOs and housing in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) is included in the report “BRE integrated Dwelling Level Housing Stock Modelling and Database for Arun District Council: Additional Analysis of the Private Rented Sector, including HMOs (21 September 2022)”, which is shown in full in Appendix 3, and in part in the main body of this consultation document (section 12). BRE’s findings are estimates based upon modelled data. BRE provides no representation, warranty or guarantee in respect of the modelled data.

Introducing an additional HMO licensing scheme will provide greater confidence that there are adequate safeguards in place to help ensure that people in these types of properties are provided with appropriate, safe, good-standard and affordable accommodation in private rented sector properties in the wards where the scheme is in place.

Government guidance provides examples of properties being managed “sufficiently ineffectively” including:

  • those whose internal condition, including poor amenities and overcrowding, adversely impact upon the health, safety and welfare of the occupiers and the landlords of those properties are failing to take appropriate steps to address the issues
  • those properties whose external condition and curtilage, including yards and gardens, adversely impact upon the general character and amenity of the area in which they are located
  • those where there is a significant and persistent problem of antisocial behaviour affecting other residents and/or the local community and the landlords of those HMOs are not taking reasonable and lawful steps to eliminate or reduce the problems
  • those where the lack of management or poor management skills and practices are otherwise adversely impacting upon the welfare, health and safety of residents and/or impacting upon the wider community

Benefits of additional HMO licensing schemes to landlords may include:

  • landlords being more knowledgeable and legally compliant
  • increase in property value, although it is acknowledged that the current financial climate will affect this
  • improved rental income as areas are improved and maintained
  • improvement in the reputation of private rented sector HMO properties
  • fewer void periods as tenants will want to stay
  • poor performing landlords receiving support and training to help them improve
  • responsible landlords receiving information and support to help tackle antisocial behaviour

Benefits of additional HMO licensing schemes to tenants may include:

  • more professional landlords providing good quality accommodation
  • improvements to their rented properties
  • maintenance and management will be improved and undertaken
  • minimum standards will be reached and maintained, improving the living environment, and reducing negative health impacts on occupants
  • clear rules that landlords must follow
  • lower likelihood of homelessness and eviction as it will reduce the need for complaints about disrepair which can lead to a poorer relationship with the landlord

Benefits of additional HMO licensing schemes for the community may include:

  • increased housing demand
  • increase in overall house prices
  • reduced antisocial behaviour and crime
  • improved security and settled communities
  • improvement in the overall housing stock
  • better housing provision
  • reduced environmental issues
  • protects vulnerable people who might currently live in poorly maintained accommodation
  • lower demand on public services as hazards will be identified sooner and before more serious interventions are needed, for example, hospital admissions

Benefits of additional HMO licensing schemes to the council may include:

  • more effective targeted support, information supply and enforcement
  • better understanding of problems and their causes in these wards
  • better engagement between landlords, tenants and the council in these wards
  • poorly performing landlords improving their practices and properties
  • criminal and rogue landlords being subject to enforcement action
  • broader knowledge and understanding of the private rental markets in these wards