New guidance for landlords to further protect tenants from poor living conditions has been published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
From 1 October 2018, any landlord who lets a property to five or more people – from two or more separate households – must be licensed by their local housing authority.
The move, which the government estimates will affect around 160,000 houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), will mean councils can take further action to crack down on the small minority of landlords renting out substandard and overcrowded homes.
New rules will also come into force setting minimum size requirements for bedrooms in HMOs to prevent overcrowding.
Landlords will also be required to adhere to council refuse schemes, to reduce problems with rubbish.
The guidance document, which you can access by clicking here, includes further details on extending mandatory licensing to smaller HMOs and introducing minimum bedroom sizes as government continues to rebalance the relationship between tenants and landlords.
Housing Minister Heather Wheeler said: “Everyone deserves a decent and safe place to live.
“Today’s new guidance for landlords will further protect private renters against bad and overcrowded conditions and poor management practice.”
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