The Report Will Recommend the Following

1. Describe the issue under consideration

The report will recommend the following:

• The adoption of an Additional HMO Licensing Scheme within the Harringay Ward and main roads bounding the area. The intended start date is 1st October 2011 and it is viewed as a 5 year project.
• The fee structure and length of licence period.
• The property standards to be adopted for HMO’s
• The enforcement process associated with licensing.

The report will also request cabinet to consider:

• The roll out of the licensing scheme to other areas of the borough.
• The ring fence of all or part of the fee income to support the roll out process as this would not be possible within existing resources.
• The use of the licensing process to develop a corporate enforcement strategy around HMO’s in the wider sense which develops a “virtual team” approach. It is not necessary for officers, of different disciplines, to be physically grouped together but that information and expertise is used as and when to solve issues using the most appropriate action or legislation.

1. Background information

The scheme has been developed from the pilot project initiated within the Harringay and St Ann’s wards. Local members and residents voiced their frustration over the local area being dramatically changed by the increased number of properties that had been converted in to smaller units. This frustration had been further fuelled by the fact that many of these changes had no planning permission and landlords taking advantage of a buoyant market, freely placed tenants, without fulfilling their management responsibilities. This process over a period of time dramatically changed the dynamics within the area resulting in a loss of standards and general decline.

Residents considered that they had reported these issues to the authority over many years but had no confidence that the authority was listening to their concerns. This was further aggravated by properties being granted certificates of lawfulness for conversion into a number of units, by landlords providing fraudulent documents. Residents were clearly aware of the properties past history and robustly challenged the authority.

There was some confusion as the whole decline was blamed on the proliferation of HMO’s. This was not the case and it has taken some time to address this point. The key issue was the unchecked change of use of many properties which were converted in to smaller units creating more tenants within the area and a greater churn of residents than experiencedbefore. The traditional type of HMO with bed sit rooms and shared facilities was not increasing, more likely in decline.

To tackle this issue a corporate HMO/Conversion working group was established to investigate residents concerns and was chaired by the cabinet member. A pilot project was established and a number of target roads were identified to assess the council activity. Information regarding properties that had been converted with and without planning permission was identified and complaints regarding noise, housing disrepair, environmental nuisance and waste enforcement were compared against each type. The results were inconclusive, although the number of complaints made within the Harringay ward, overall, were second highest in the borough, the spread of complaint was even across the units converted with permission and those without.

Three interesting points were identified:

• There were a small number of properties in each target road that exhibited a large number of complaints across many services. The issues appeared to be happening over a considerable period creating a poor perception of the area and that of the authority. Services responded to complaints individually but it needed services working together at an early stage to resolve the problems.
• There were a considerable number of unknown properties which on face value indicated that they were owner occupied. Subsequent investigations revealed that a number were private rented in poor condition and occupied by tenants placed by external organisations or companies which were working in partnership with government agencies or bringing in foreign students from France, Spain, Italy and Hungary.
• A number of properties which had been converted had insufficient council tax accounts or HMO owners were not registered as the responsible person for the council tax account. The authority has been and is continuing to loose substantial amounts of council tax.

The pilot identified the need to address the following:

• The quality of the housing conditions in respect of safety, comfort and repair.
• Properties must comply with all standards and permissions required.
• Landlords must be made to take responsibility for anti-social behaviour and nuisance associated with their properties.
• Landlords to provide their tenants with proper tenancies and documentation.
• Landlords to control waste associated with their properties, in respect of daily waste of tenants and that of tenancy changes/building works.
• Landlords to ensure that the correct amount of council tax is paid and notify when housing benefit tenants leave.

Licensing is considered as the tool for delivering this to a substantial number of premises. Enforcing standards is complex, resource intensive and financially costly. Licensing changes the dynamics and requires the landlords to approach the authority and it in an offence for not making a licence application if the property falls within the criteria set.

1. Options for consideration

The adoption of the Additional HMO Licensing Scheme is subject to government guidance. We have followed the guidance and looked at other examples where similar schemes have been adopted. We have to be satisfied that the power is required and undertake both survey and consultation:

• We have defined the properties which will require a licence. All shared properties which fall outside of the mandatory scheme and all converted properties which were converted before 1991 or do not meet the building regulations of that date. This is likely to include all the premises which have been converted without the necessary permission. We need to be satisfied that this type of premises exist in sufficient numbers and is causing sufficient problems within the area to need this power. We believe the survey results will demonstrate this
• We have to be satisfied that this approach is consistent with other council strategies and policies. HMO’s are specifically mentioned within the Housing Strategy and the manifesto of the majority group specifically outlines this approach. This is also consistent with another area based approach programme such as Empty Homes which will complement this approach.
• We have consulted with local residents and landlords over a 12 week period using questionnaires delivered through doors as well as an on line form. We have addressed residents groups and presented at a landlord forum. We have delivered letters to 30 agents within the Green Lanes area and sent letters to hundreds of landlords. We have also offered and delivered training courses to landlords within the borough through the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme.
• We have undertaken a survey of properties within the area to determine the type of property that needs to be included within the scheme and have recorded the condition of the properties inspected. We believe that we can demonstrate that the majority of the properties fail to meet the requirement of the management regulations or fail to have basic measures in place such as fire protection. Even properties that have been converted to a good standard have internal layouts which cause safety concerns. We have also found properties that are in a dreadful condition and it is essential that these properties are dealt with. There are serious concerns regarding the accommodation over shops on the main thoroughfares.

The fee structure has already been agreed in the fees and charges report. The fee is £208 for each unit of accommodation within the property. The report will introduce some concessions to this fee as consultation has indicated from both residents and landlords that good landlords should not be treated the same as bad landlords. The concessions will be around being an accredited landlord and early applications, especially on re-licensing.

The licence period is usually for five years. The report will indicate a series of circumstances where we would wish to reduce the period for failure in a number of areas. This again fits in with the consultation that good landlords are likely to gain much longer licence periods than poorer quality landlords. The following are a number of factors which will be taken in to consideration:

• Not being an accredited landlord, 1 year deduction.
• Conversion/change of use without planning permission, 1 year deduction
• Property incorrectly rated for council tax, 2 year deduction.
• History of complaints regarding the property from council services, 1 year deduction.
• Failure to apply for a licence when required, 3 year deduction.
• Gross failure of property to meet management regulations, 2 year deduction.

This is part of the virtual team approach in that all council services will be able to contribute at each licence application to ensure that each property is fully compliant and that we have collected all outstanding debt.

The standards for Houses in Multiple Occupation set out the requirements for such properties under the following headings:

• Heating
• Personal Hygiene
• Kitchen Facilities
• Fire Precautions
• Space Standards.

These standards have been adopted previously by the council but amendments have been made to remove reference to shared houses, which no longer exist under the terms of the act, and to include gallery accommodation which is increasing in some type of properties.

The enforcement process associated with the licensing process will be outlined in the report for endorsement. It will set out the various stages and the types of enforcement. This will be included within the enforcement policy if direction is agreed. A number of other changes are required to the enforcement policy outside of licensing and therefore they can all be made at the same time.

The roll out of another scheme has been requested to be considered. It is believed that the concept of an area based corporate enforcement direction using the licensing scheme as the catalyst for multi-service intervention is sound. It will target resources in a strategic proactive approach rather than being driven by a response driven approach. In times of reduced resources it is essential to effectively use resources in a smart way, this direction embraces this approach. Considerable knowledge has been gained in setting up the first scheme and it is possible to move to another area/ward and start the consultation and inspections ready for a later start date, once the original scheme within Harringay has been progressed and outcomes analysed. This must be considered in the context of the fee income through licensing and any additional income the authority will obtain through stricter recovery of council tax, through evidence gained through the scheme. The use of some of the fee income to start the roll out process and could initially be handled by a part time officer.

1. Financial Implications

Working practices within the team have been reviewed and changed to accommodate the proposed licensing scheme. Two vacant team leader posts have been converted to frontline officer posts to replace posts lost through the voluntary process. The initial scheme will be delivered through existing budget. Roll out would require additional help.

Financial comments provided for recent Scrutiny Committee indicate that the income generated from this scheme is estimated at £100,000 and this figure has been built in to the budget for 20011/2012. Local finance comments also highlighted that £150,000 has been estimated within the budget for mandatory licensing. The issue with any figure associated with enforcement activities is whether the landlord/owner pays or challenges. There lies the dilemma, do we chase the easy money or tackle the poor/rogue landlords, a balance needs to be struck but the issue needs to be understood by all and a decision made of what is the key priority.

What has not been fully considered is the additional revenue which will be collected through the identification of conversions where there is underpayment of council tax. Early indication is that this is consistent where conversion has occurred without permission. Survey results have uncovered a number which leads to suspect that there are many more. This area cannot be quantified at present but will be strictly monitored to guide the discussion for future roll out

1. Legal Implications

The decision to adopt the Additional HMO licensing Scheme now lies with the authority to make the decision providing they are satisfied that the specified criteria has met The decision previously was with the Secretary of State. The authority could be challenged in the courts through Judicial Review.

Legal comments for Scrutiny Committee state that the authority must comply with the specific requirements set out within sections 56 and 57 of the Housing act 2004. This includes being satisfied that a significant proportion of the HMO’s proposed under the additional scheme are being managed significantly ineffectively. Consultation must also take place and the scheme must be consistent with the authorities overall housing strategy. Once the additional licensing scheme has been approved there are specific requirements relating to publicity and when the scheme may come in to force (not less than 3 months after the date of adoption). The authority must review the designation from time to time and may revoke it if considered appropriate. There is no fee structure prescribed within the Housing Act 2004, however the government has indicated that it should be self funding and a variety of structures are used across different authorities

1. Policy Implications

The proposed scheme is consistent with the overall housing strategy and in line with manifesto commitments. It complements the empty property direction which works as a “virtual multi-disciplinary team” and has delivered positive outcomes. The scheme will complement the work of many services of the authority and assist with some of the enforcement processes.

The consideration of a potential roll out may require the work to be better defined within a private sector housing strategy that captures all involvement with the private sector

1. List the proposed routing for the report through the formal decision making process

A report which provided an update on the mandatory scheme and detailed the additional HMO scheme went to Scrutiny Committee in February and received a good response.

This report is intended for agenda clearing and cabinet.

1. Appendix 1.

A map defining the area for the proposed Additional Licensing Scheme for Harringay Ward & specifically identified roads within St Anns Ward.

Appendix 1

Map of proposed Additional Licensing Area

Appendix 2

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Page 1 of 17

Housing Improvement Team (Private Sector)

HMO Licensing

Strategic and Community Housing Services

London Borough of Haringey

820 Seven Sisters Road

London,

N155PQ

Tel. no. 020 8489 5230

STANDARDS FOR HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION

N.B. HMO owners and their agents are advised to ensure that any HMO does not contravene any Planning restrictions or requirements. The granting of an HMO licence does not confer any Planning permission or status.

1. Heating

1.1 Fixed space heating shall be provided in all rooms, including bathrooms and WC compartments, and shall be capable of maintaining a constant temperature of at least 22 ºC in bathrooms, 21ºC in living and sleeping rooms, and 18 ºC in all other rooms and circulation areas.

1.2The heating shall be available, if required, to all tenants at all times. Control over the amount of heating in each unit of accommodation shall be under the control of the occupying tenant, and the method of heating shall be safe and should be efficient and affordable.