9. Mandatory and additional HMO licensing in Arun District

9. Mandatory and additional HMO licensing in Arun District

HMOs statistically present significantly greater risks to tenants’ health, safety and wellbeing than comparable single occupancy dwellings. These hazards put tenants’ health, safety and lives at risk. Living in such conditions can also have a significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the occupants of an HMO. HMO residents are also eight times more likely than the general population to suffer from mental health problems as well as having other problems⁶.

The London Housing Commission has previously found that overcrowding had risen most sharply in the private rented sector, where 13 percent of households lived in overcrowded accommodation which was about three times higher than the national average for private renting in England⁷. The position in regard to overcrowding in properties within Arun hasn’t been fully established; however, housing officers do find such properties within the district, either caused by a property having too few or undersized rooms (and is often “accidental” overcrowding or overoccupancy), or as a result of a landlord purposely accommodating too many persons in a property.

Many people who live in HMOs may have found it hard to secure alternative types of accommodation due to socioeconomic status, poor credit history, lack of up-front large deposits or rent in advance, and because of a lack of suitable accommodation in the area they have chosen to live.

The cap on local housing allowances has also meant that for some people, shared accommodation is the only realistic or affordable solution.

Poor management and maintenance of these properties, increases in environmental issues, and higher levels of anti-social behaviour can lead to high turnover of tenancies. This can increase costs to the landlord and empty property costs, whilst properties are subject to works and void periods between tenancies. It can also lead to a lack of community cohesion and resentment towards those living in, and those owning such properties⁷.

The initial mandatory licensing requirements and subsequent removal of the three-or -more storey component of those mandatory licensing requirements in 2018 was to help to try to remove or significantly reduce issues and problems associated with HMOs. This is particularly relevant in those that are considered high risk or intensely occupied, by creating a level playing field between landlords so rogue landlords cease to be able to operate substandard accommodation for maximum profit.

Primarily, additional licensing in Arun District would look to address such issues related to property management and conditions, fire safety and overcrowding.

Any additional licensing scheme in Arun would run alongside the existing national mandatory HMO licensing regime. Properties that are already mandatorily licensed would not need to obtain an additional license under the proposed scheme.

Under the mandatory licensing scheme, the council currently has 193 licensed HMOs across the district. The three wards with the highest number of licensed HMOs within the district are River (36 licences, 177 HMOs and 1907 total dwellings), Marine (44 licences, 193 HMOs and 1845 dwellings) and Hotham (47 licences, 156 HMOs and 1147 dwellings). Orchard ward comes in a close fourth (with 32 licences, 143 HMOs and 697 dwellings).

The change in the requirement to licence all HMOs with fewer than three storeys but with five or more occupants which came into force in October 2018 significantly increased, by about 50%, the number of properties needing a mandatory HMO licence within the district. There may still be a number of HMOs which remain unlicensed in these wards as well as elsewhere in the district as whole.

Introducing an additional HMO licensing scheme will further increase the number of licensable properties in the proposed three wards and it will require proactive action and potentially, enforcement by officers. This will ensure these properties, and any that should already be licensed, have the required licence. Information that the council already held regarding HMOs has been greatly expanded upon by the BRE Housing Stock Model Data and their analysis of various data sources.

The introduction of additional HMO licensing would be in River ward in Littlehampton and Hotham and Marine wards in Bognor Regis, as shown on the following maps.

(select an image to enlarge it)

River ward, Littlehampton

Hotham ward, Bognor Regis

Marine ward, Bognor Regis

⁶Shaw, M. Danny, D. and Brimblecombe, N. (1998) Health problems in houses in multiple occupation.

⁷London Housing Commission “Building a new deal for London” (2016).