CONTENT

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2 BACKGROUND

3KEY AIM AND OBJECTIVES

3.1Improve knowledge and records

3.2Improvement and Enforcement

3.3Licensing

3.4Information and Advice

3.5Promote excellent standards

4RESOURCES

4.1Staff

5Appendix

1Density and spread of HMO’s in town centre wards

2Density and spread of HMO’s throughout WrexhamCounty Borough

3Standards for Houses in Multiple Occupation

1Executive Summary

This policy sets out the way in which the Housing Standards Team will aim to improve the conditions of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) within Wrexham County Borough Council. Whilst acknowledging the important contribution madeby HMO’s to meeting housing need, we recognise that such properties are frequently amongst the worst in the private rented sector in terms of management and condition.

The objectives of the Local Housing Strategy are to increase the provision of affordable homes, reduceincidences of homelessness and tackle substandard housing across all private sector tenures.To help contribute to the objectives this HMO ImprovementPolicy will concentrate on ways in which to raise the standards and quality of shared accommodation within the County Borough to safeguard the health, safety and well-being of the residents living in this sector.

The Policy applies to all properties which fall under the current HMO definition contained in the Housing Act 2004. There are approximately 750known HMO’s within the County Borough.This constitutesless than 2% of the private sector stock; however Wrexham’s Private Sector Stock Condition survey 2006believed the actual number to be far higher. We acknowledge that while HMO’s form only a small part of the housing market, they are important to those who, either through necessity or choice live in this sector.

2Background

2.1House in Multiple Occupation

Under the Housing Act 2004 a building is an House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) if it meets one of the following tests:

  • The Standard Test – any building in which two or more households share basic amenities i.e. cooking facilities and bathrooms.
  • The Self-contained Flat Test – any flat in which two or more households share basic amenities.
  • The ConvertedBuilding Test – any converted building with one or more units that are not self-contained.
  • Certain Converted Blocks of Flats – any converted building comprising of self contained flats that does not meet the 1991 Building Regulations Standards and more than one third of the flats are occupied on short tenancies.

The following are ‘households’ for the purposes of the Housing Act 2004:

  • Members of the same family living together including:
  • Relatives living together, including parents, children, grandparents, step-children, brothers,sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews or cousins.
  • Couples married or living together as husband or wife (or in an equivalent relationship in the case of persons of the same sex).
  • A foster child living with foster parents is treated as part of the same household.
  • Domestic staff are considered to be part of the household if they live in rent free accommodation provided by the person for whom they work.

2.2HMO’s in Wrexham

According to the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey undertaken in 2006, 9% of the total private sector stockin the County Borough,was privately rented (Graph 1), compared to a Welsh average of 11%.

Within this sector HMO’s include self-contained flats, bedsits, flatlets, shared houses and certain types of hostel accommodation, including student’s halls of residence. There are approximately 750 known HMO’s within the County Borough.This constitutes less than 2% of the private sector stock; however Wrexham’s Private Sector Stock Condition survey 2006believed the actual number to be far higherand nearer to 1000 properties.

Graph 1 – Percentage tenure of Private Sector Stock

In general HMO’s are found in older properties built around the turn of the last century.The majority of these properties aretwo storey terrace properties located close to the town centre.

Graph2 indicates the percentage of the know HMO’s in each ward.

Appendix 1 shows the high density of HMO’s in these wards. The highest concentrations being located in the, Brynyffynnon, Grosvenor, Offa and Smithfield wards.

Appendix 2 shows the concentration and spread of HMO’s throughout the County Borough.

Graph 2 – Percentage of known HMO’s by ward

2.3Risks Associated with HMO’s

Houses in multiple occupation have certain increased risks associated with them:

1. Fire Risk - these properties, because of the nature of their occupation, pose a significantly higher fire risk than properties occupied by singlehouseholds. This is due to the greater number of occupants, and in particular, where individual occupants do not know the whereabouts or actions of the other occupants. The fire risk also increases when there are more floors in a building, as the distance any occupant must travel to escape is greater.

2. Overcrowding – all HMO’s have to be fit for use by the number of occupants without compromising the health and safety of the tenants.

3. Shared Facilities – there is a need for the provision of adequate and sufficient amenities for the number of inhabitants without causing general inconvenience or compromising the health and safety of the residents

3Key Aim and Objectives

The overall aim of this policy is:

“To ensure that Houses in Multiple Occupation in WrexhamCounty Borough provide safe and well managed accommodation to help meet the housing needs of our residents”

To achieve this aim we will:

  • Develop our knowledge of the private HMO market in the County Borough,
  • Work towards eliminating poor property and poor management standards in all HMO’s, through reactive and programmed risk based inspections and taking the most appropriate enforcement action,
  • Meet the legislative obligations for HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004,
  • Review the need for further Licensing schemes in the County Borough
  • Promote excellent standards in HMO’s and support the retention of a well-managed, good quality private HMO market,
  • Provide information and advice to landlords and tenants to maintain the supply of good quality shared accommodation.

These objectives will be achieved by engaging in a positive dialogue with private landlords and tenants, working with internal and external partners and if necessary by using our enforcement powers under the Housing Act 2004 and other Environmental Health Legislation.

3.1Improved knowledge and records

The Housing Standards team will continue to build, develop and maintain an up to date HMO database and will seek to identify all HMO’sto enable a more accurate picture to be formed of the scale ofHMO numbers and location inthe County Borough. This will be achieved by using a variety of methods including private rented sector surveys, street surveys, investigating ‘to let’ adverts, checking property records and liaising with internal and external partners.

Effective liaison between internal and external stakeholders is essential to successful delivery of this policy. The Housing Standards team will work to improve and establish joint working to:

  • Implement a mechanism where other partners holding relevant information are consulted on a regular basis and exchange of information is facilitated,
  • Improve procedures for co-ordination and liaison,
  • Monitor and regularly review procedures to ensure a corporate and good practice approach to all matters relating to HMO’s.

These partners will include the following:

  • Council Tax
/
  • Public Protection Service

  • Housing Benefit
/
  • Planning and Building Control

  • Homeless Team
/
  • Social Services

  • Environment Department
/
  • Probation Service

  • Elected Members
/
  • Housing Advice Agencies

  • Education Establishments
/
  • Rent Officer

  • Fire Service
/
  • Police Authority

  • Community Councils
/
  • Citizen’s Advice Bureau

  • Media
  • Housing Renewal
/
  • Refugee Organisation
  • Area Renewal

The information gained from co-operation with partners will be included on the HMO database. The database contains details on the type of property, the address, ownership details, tenancy details, risk assessment, previous enforcement history and activity by other service areas such as Environmental Health and Planning. Property addresses are plotted onto a GIS system to provide a visual representation of the number and location of HMO’s within the County Borough.

Improved knowledge of the HMO sector and information contained on the database will be used to assist the team in making an assessment regarding the need for further licensing, to target enforcement activity and to monitor the HMO market over time in terms of number and location.

The team will look to establish a working group for HMO’s, including internal and external partners. The group will endeavour to work closely in dealing with problems relating to HMO’s, sharing information and establishing the most appropriate course of action. This joint approach will make the most of limited resources.

In achieving the above we will:

Develop our knowledge of the private HMO market in the County Borough

3.2Improvement and Enforcement

The Housing Standards Team will seek to ensure that it uses all its powers to achieve and maintain standards in relation to condition, fire precautions, amenities and management of HMO’s, including those that are not subject to mandatory licensing. This will be achieved by ensuring the property complies with all relevant legislation including the council’s HMO Standards.

The variety of types of HMO’s and landlords will often require a decision on a per propertybasis by officers,concerning the appropriate action required. The emphasis will continue to promote cooperation with landlords but where necessary enforcement will be undertaken to ensure compliance with the legislation where for example the landlord is absent or uncooperative or where the nature of the defect is so serious that informal action would be inappropriate.

This approach will be consistent and in line with the principles of the Enforcement Concordat and officers will comply with the Corporate Enforcement Policy adopted by the Council and the departmental Housing Standards Enforcement Policy.

The Housing Standards Team will continue to react to complaints of substandard HMO’s, and if necessary action will be taken to ensure the property meets the required standards.

Where a property is reported or found to be occupied as an HMO, the Housing Standards Team will carry out a risk assessment of the property and will attribute a scoring based on the following criteria:

  • Number of storeys and occupants
/
  • Proximity to ignition source

  • Occupant dependency and vulnerability
/
  • Fire rating of escape routs

  • Means of detection
/
  • Fire safety management

Once risk assessed the property will be included on the risk based proactive inspection list. The frequency of inspection of the remaining HMO’s will be determined by the property risk rating. In the case of licensable HMO’s the inspection will be undertaken within 30 days.

In achieving the above we will:

Work towards eliminating poor property and poor management standards in all HMO’s, through reactive and programmed risk based inspections and taking the most appropriate enforcement action.

3.3 Licensing

The Housing Act 2004 provides powers for local authorities to tackle key issues affecting private sector housing. Part 2 of the Act introduced mandatory licensing for HMO’s which have three or more storeys and are occupied by five or more people, forming two or more households. Mandatory Licensing was introduced by the Government to help drive up property standards and the quality of management in those properties that are considered to pose the greatest risk to occupying tenants.

All landlords of HMO’s that meet the eligibility criteria for licensing must by law apply for and acquire a licence to operate,and renew this license every five years. As at June 2008 Wrexham has less than thirty properties which fall within this category, representing less than 4% of the all HMO’s.

The Housing Standards Team will continue to require landlords to apply for a licence where applicable, and encourage tenants and others to report unlicensed HMO’s by:

  • Publicising the need to licence HMO’s which fall within the mandatory scheme,
  • Send information, letters and reminders to landlords, if their property has been identified as being licensable,
  • Offer assistance for applicants in completing application forms,
  • Give landlords a reasonable time to submit their application,
  • Develop a reporting system via the website, service email and telephone hotline for the reporting of licensable HMO’s.
  • Implement enforcement action where landlords fail to comply.

Where certain types of HMO’s are badly managed or causing a problem either to tenants or the surrounding neighbourhood local authorities can use their discretionary power under the Housing Act 2004 to implement additional and/or selective licensing. A review of the licensing scheme will be carried out to assess the need for further licensing schemes in Wrexham. If it is deemed necessary the service will implement this scheme (dependant on elected members and Secretary of State approval).

In achieving the above we will:

Meet our legislative obligations for HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004

Review the need for further licensing schemes in the County Borough

3.4 Promote excellent standards

The Landlord Accreditation in Wales Scheme (LAW) is a centrally administered scheme run by all local authorities in Wales. The aim of the scheme is to make landlords more aware of their rights and responsibilities and more proactive in their approach to managing their businesses. This allows the Local Authority to target their available resources on a more limited number of Landlords whose properties do not reach legal minimum standards, and will not without Council intervention.

The benefits to landlords of being accredited will be:

  • Preferential marketing,
  • Better access to Local Authority Events and Publications,
  • Landlords will receive supporting documentation and training course,
  • Wider support network,
  • One application for accreditation covers all Wales.
  • Improved profile for the landlords and their business.

The Housing Standards Team will continue to support and promote the Landlord Accreditation Wales Scheme to provide landlords with information and professional development opportunities to allow them to operate a successful business whilst providing their tenants with safe, well managed, high quality accommodation.

In achieving the above we will:

Promote excellent standards in HMO’s and support the retention of a well-managed, good quality private HMO market.
3.5Information and Advice

The team aims to improve information, publicity and communication channels between the Council, landlords and tenants. Of particular importance is to raise awareness of the minimum HMO Standards and licensing requirements.

The Wrexham Housing Alliance is responsible for thedevelopment and delivery of the County Borough’s Local Housing Strategy. The Alliance is supported by the Private Sector Landlords Forum. This was established to facilitate a dialogue between the Housing Standards Team andlocal private sector landlords with the aim of informing them of the latestlegislation and the way it impacts on their business, as well as seeking theirviews and ideas on our plans and strategies in the private sector. The Housing Standards Team will continue to organise and develop the Forum to facility a good working relationship with local landlords within the overall aim of improving the quality of the private rented sector.

Landlords and tenants information packs have been developed to provide information and advice about a variety of private sector housing issues. The packs will be distributed via the landlord’s forum, website requests and during routine inspections of HMO’s. The team will liaise with other partners to ensure the information is widely available.

Information and contact details are also provided on the Council’s website. The website aims to provide greater access to council services and promote communication and information sharing. The team will ensure the information provided is kept up to date, to ensure consistence of advice to landlords and tenants.

In achieving the above we will:

Provide information and advice to landlords and tenants to maintain the supply of good quality shared accommodation.

4 Resources

4.1Staff

The Council funds four full time Environmental Health Officer postsfor the purpose of improving housing standards. The team spend a significant part of their time dealing with HMO’s within the County Borough. The team is managed by the Principle Housing Standards and Strategy Officer and forms part of the Council’s Strategic Housing Services.

The main activities undertaken in relation to HMO’s are:

  • Implementation of legislative requirementsin the Housing Act 2004 and other Environmental Health legislation,
  • Responding to service requests,
  • Identification and inspection of HMO’s in the County Borough,
  • Enforcement of standards where necessary,
  • Production and communication of information,
  • Organising the Private Sector Landlords Forum,
  • Promotion of the Landlords Accreditation WalesScheme.

Appendix 1 – Density and spread of HMO’s in town centre wards

Appendix 2 – Density and spread of HMO’s throughout Wrexham County Borough


Appendix 3 – Standards for Houses in Multiple Occupation

Shared houses and bedsit accommodation

The Council may at its discretion vary these requirements in certain circumstances.