Houses in Multiple Occupation (properties with three or more unrelated tenants) are falling under greater scrutiny. To ensure a property meets particular fire safety standards landlords must now ensure they hold a professional fire risk assessment. What’s more, once the fire risk assessment is complete, all high-priority suggestions for improvements must then be carried out in a timely manner. Failure to comply can lead to significant penalties and indeed prosecution.

Fire Risk Assessment – Legislation and Regulations

The idea behind a fire risk assessment is to establish the safety aspects of a property for fire purposes. A trained and  ‘competent person’ is tasked with identifying potential hazards. This will involve deciding if there is any significant risk of danger to life in the event of a real fire. Examples would include establishing if occupants are able to quickly leave the building without having to find their keys. To combat this problem HMO landlords should always provide a safe ‘means of escape’. This will often involve ensuring both windows have fire hinges and all exit doors have ‘thumb turn’ locks.

The best place to start for information on fire safety is the LACoRS Fire Safety Guidance. This can be found here.

The HMO definition

A new definition of a HMO was introduced in 2004 and should be read and understood thoroughly by all landlords. Under the Housing Act (2004), HMO properties have additional responsibilities when compared to individually let properties.  Consequently, it is vital to know whether a property is classed as a HMO or not.

Neglecting fire safety regulations can lead to a serious fine. You can read more online to figure out whether a property qualifies as a HMO or not. If you are unsure at any point, your local housing authority will have all the answers. Your first port of call would be your local planning department.

Properties within the HMO definition may include:

• Shared houses
• Bed sits
• Self-contained flats

Properties that do not fit into the description of a HMO property include:

• Buildings occupied by a maximum of two households with a single individual each, e.g. a two person flat share.
• Student halls of residence
• Religious establishments and care homes
• Properties owned or managed by a public body, e.g. the NHS

What am I responsible for in a Fire Risk Assessment?

In order to fulfill the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order landlords are responsible for a wide range of regulations. These include:

• Establishing a satisfactory means of escape
• Ensuring that qualified engineer carry out either a six monthly or annual test on the fire detection system
• Carrying out monthly fire tests and logging the results of these within a fire log book
• Ensuring that an annual Portable Appliance Test is carried out by a qualified person
• Properties built after June 1992 must be fitted with mains operated smoke alarms on each floor
• Properties built before June 1992 should be fitted with battery-operated smoke alarms on each floor
• Ensuring all furnishings meet fire resistance regulations
• Any dangerous appliances are removed from the property

This list is by no means exhaustive. Being a HMO landlord takes dedication to get it right. Fire safety should be a top priority for anybody investing in HMO property.

If you are finding it difficult to keep up with all of the latest regulations we can help. Today we work with man landlords to take the strain away from day to day management of HMO property. Take a look at our Guaranteed Rent service to discover how we work with landlords by visiting us here.

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So how does Rent to Rent work?

More often than not it all starts with a ‘tired’ landlord. Tired landlords no longer want to continue being in the middle of the letting process. After all today’s landlord faces a growing number of Government regulations. Instead, tired landlords want to benefit from a rental income without all of the headaches. Enter the rent-savvy individual, willing to take over the day to day job of looking after tenants. With a hard-to-refuse offer of Guaranteed Rent for a typical period of three to seven years, tired landlords can hand over their properties.

Is Rent to Rent for me?

Do you seem to fit the title of tired landlord? Rent to Rent has many pros and cons. It can provide you with an easy way to reap the benefits of your rental income whilst holding out for increases in the property’s value. You can keep earning while someone else does the harder graft for you. Provided you have found a credible rent to rent operator, there are no worries of tenant issues or lost rent. With a contract including light maintenance, you can guarantee your property will be returned in the condition you left it.

However, you will have to forgoe some rental income in order for the rent to rent operator to also make a return from the arrangement. Typically the rent to rent operator will pay around 60% of the gross rent for each room within a multi-let property. However, the numbers work best on a typical family. This is true where the rent to rent operator only has to carry out the minimum work to render it safe to sub-let.

For many, the buzzwords ‘infinite profit’ and ‘passive income’ are enough to peak their interest. With the day to day hassle of managing a property removed from the equation, rent to rent appears to be pretty simple. Find some tenants, do a few maintenance jobs, and head to the bank. Right? Not necessairly.

Behind every perfect scenario lay some risks.

Keep your eyes out for these potential problems:

Legal issues with Rent to Rent

Beware of the credibility of some rent to rent operators. In some cases both tenants and landlords could be negatively affected. One common example is when an individual or company portrays themselves as experts in the field and actually have very little knowledge or experience. Without prior knowledge it is all too easy to fall foul to many of the legal issues that rent to rent presents. Examples include ensuring a property has a HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) Licence where one is needed. The rules are out there to protect tenants and are to be ignored at your peril. For these reasons, it is important that you know who you are ‘getting into bed with’ to make rent to rent work properly.

Con-artist Renters & Illegal rent to rent operators

In 2012, Rose Chimuka was jailed for over 4 years after what police called an ‘elaborate fraud’. Using fake ID’s and an embellished story, she claimed to be a respected mother and wife. She leased properties which she said she would live in with her family. The asylum seeker then illegally sub-let the properties as she passed herself off as the real landlord. This scam affected 6 different landlords, who each lost up to a huge £86,000 each in rent. The potential issues of such scams are definitely something to be be careful about when thinking about taking this route.

Lost or no rent

With the rent to rent approach, it is rarely the sub-letter who faces the consequences. The ‘real’ landlord tends to be the one who suffers the loss of rent. Also, some end up left with sitting tenants and further difficulties removing them. Even with agreements being made, some landlords find themselves being left high and dry.

Before deciding on rent to rent, make sure you have done your research into what could potentially go wrong. It is important to recognize the risks should your renter be a fraud. You should check that you will still be financially stable if something did go wrong.

In order to be protected, it is vital to do your due diligence before moving forward. For more advice on how to be safe in the rent to rent industry, read the Lettingaproperty.com post here.

Having provided Guaranteed Rent across a wide range of properties for some years, the team at Capitum can offer tired landlords genuine help. You can see some of our current rent to rent properties here.

To find out how we can help call us today on 0115 740 1800.

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Short-term & flexible accommodation

The Co-Living startup is most commonly recognized in America, earning both positivity and controversy. Perhaps the best known of all, ‘Common‘ is a shared accommodation company who claim to offer “flexible, community-driven housing”. The minimum 90 day stay prevents the HMO’s from feeling like hotels. “There’s a real sense of community so you immediately feel plugged into a group of fellow New Yorker’s. We want people living there to look at it as a home”,  Founder and CEO Brad Hargreaves reported.

A new way of Co Living within an HMO

Co-living entrepreneurs recognize that young people struggling to get their foot on the property ladder are valuing experiences over possessions. With social media at the forefront of society, few millennial’s shy away from sharing important personal moments with their peers. The close proximity of like-minded people is the foundation of building community, whilst private spaces encourage their individuality. HMO properties can also offer immediate friends for young people moving to a new city. Further, communal living provides a unique opportunity to experience new cultures and expand social links. It’s not just the residents who benefit from house shares, but the surrounding areas too. The combined forces of entrepreneurs, creatives and professionals encourage connections with the wider community which may otherwise be disconnected. The Co-living website offers insight into the basic aims and values of the idea which you can see here.

Simplicity is the key to the modern HMO (House in Multiple Occupation)

All inclusive One of the biggest selling points of HMOs is the all inclusive rent. Direct from the states, ‘hassle-free living’ is spreading throughout the UK. Shared living takes away all of the worries of managing bills including gas, electricity, water and council tax from the tenants. This very simplicity allows a security blanket for young people, ridding of unpleasant surprises at the end of the month. Additionally, the perks of communal cleaners and gardeners only emphasize how life is made simple for even the busiest of people.

Capitum offers a wide selection of properties in excellent locations throughout Nottingham. You can read more about Co-Living with Capitum here.

To find out how we provide the best in shared living contact one of our team today on 0115 740 1800, alternatively you can email us at hello@capitum.co.uk

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