Hello readers,
Something that comes up from time to time is what HMO landlords ought to do should a tenant become pregnant. This is a delicate area and one that is not often thought about, however does happen from time to time.
The point about having a child in an HMO room is that the law states your property is overcrowded if it does not meet the size requirements and that’s the point here.
Some helpful notes on working out how many people can live in an HMO
Council officers use two standards to determine the maximum occupancy of an HMO: the room standard and the space standard.
The HMO Room Standard
An HMO is considered overcrowded if a person aged 13 or older has to sleep in the same room as:
- Any person of the opposite sex who is also over 13, or
- A couple
The HMO Space Standard
An HMO is considered overcrowded if there are too many people sleeping in a bedroom or living room. The law specifies space standards to determine how many people can safely sleep in a room.
For the space standard:
- A child under 12 counts as half a person.
- A baby under one year old is not counted.
If a room is used only as a bedroom, the space standard allows a maximum of:
- One person in a room measuring between 6.5m² and 11m²
- Two people in a room measuring between 11m² and 15m²
- Three people in a room measuring between 15m² and 19.5m²
Four people can sleep in a room measuring 19.5m², with one additional person allowed for every extra 4.5m² above 19.5m².
A room measuring less than 6.5m² is not suitable as a bedroom.
The council uses a specific method to measure rooms, considering factors such as sloped ceilings and chimney breasts.
Overcrowding Notice
Allowing an HMO to become overcrowded is an offence.
The council can issue an overcrowding notice if an officer believes that an HMO is currently overcrowded or is likely to become overcrowded.
For example, if there is an 11-month-old baby in the HMO and the property is at maximum occupancy, it will become overcrowded once the baby turns one.
You can appeal an overcrowding notice at the county court.
The gov.uk website explains about this, explaining it is unknowingly permitting a breach:
“This may arise where the landlord is unaware that there is a breach of the minimum sleeping room size requirements; for example, where a tenant has given birth to a child since moving into the HMO and the landlord was unaware that the tenant was pregnant.”
“The local housing authority must allow a reasonable period (of up to 18 months) for the overcrowding to be remedied before it prosecutes the landlord for breach of the licence condition. The landlord must be notified that they are deemed to be in breach and this notification must specify the length of time they have to remedy the breach.”
How landlords should handle the situation
If one of your tenants is expecting, handling the situation delicately is extremely important. It is also the landlord’s responsibility to meet the room size requirements, so clear action is also needed.
Here’s how I recommend handling this one:
- Congratulate your tenant, provide them with information about the legal requirements on licensing to explain the situation and find out about their intentions (ie: where they plan to move to). I recommend writing a letter to document the discussion.
- Should your tenant not be willing to move out, you will unfortunately need to commence eviction proceedings. Whilst a challenging time to do this, as a landlord you need to bear in mind your legal obligations.
I recommend utilising the services of a specialist such as Landlord Action, who will be able to advise on the process for your specific situation. It’s important to bear in mind that the council will be unlikely to help if your tenant simply leaves and will advise them to hang on until they are forcibly evicted.
As mentioned above, this is a delicate matter and I trust that you found this advice helpful!
Hasan
