If your property is in the following London Boroughs – Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Lewisham, Newham Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, as from November 2020, there are additional licensing schemes in place.
The Housing Act 2004 gives Local Authorities the power to introduce additional HMO licensing schemes, enabling them to require the licensing of what is termed as HMO’s, Houses in Multiple Occupation, that do not meet the criteria for mandatory licensing.
On 12th February 2019 Haringey Council designated the whole Borough to be subject to additional HMO Licensing. The scheme became operative on 27th May 2019 and effectively extends licensing to all HMO’s in the borough by requiring the licensing of HMO’s occupied by three or four persons, and Section 257 Houses in Multiple Occupation.
A Section 257 House in Multiple Occupation is a Building converted into self-contained Flats where the works of conversion do not comply with the Building Regulations 1991 or subsequent regulations in force at the time of conversion, (or which has not been retrospectively upgraded to comply) and where less than two thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.
As a Premise which is licenced, these “traditional” HMO’s and the identified 257 Houses, require a Fire Safety Risk Assessment
This is not a scheme to generate more business, but London Fire Risk Assessments felt we had an obligation to identify this because, if the property is required to have, what is termed as an Additional or Selective License, and there is a failure to comply it is a criminal offence that can result in prosecution and a Fine, or Civil Penalty, of up to £30,000.
Information has been collected from London Property Licensing www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk/additional-licensing
If you wish to discuss this further with one of our Fire Safety Risk Assessors then call us now on 0781 8888626 or click here
