FAQs

Dwellings occupied by 3 or more persons in 2 or more households as their main residence are called Houses in Multiple Occupation or HMOs. These include bedsits and other properties where facilities are shared such as the kitchen and bathroom including houses, flats, and bungalows. Also, certain properties converted into flats are also HMOs.  

There are some excellent well-managed and operated HMOs but, like anything, there is evidence that some are badly managed, in poor condition and compromise the health, safety and welfare of the occupying tenants. As well as having substandard conditions, poor HMO management standards are sometimes associated with problems such as anti-social behaviour, noise, nuisance parking, unsightly gardens and accumulations of refuse which all have an adverse effect on their neighbourhood.

The Housing Act 2004 requires that properties occupied by 5 or more people in 2 or more households who share a kitchen and/or bathroom must be licensed. This is known as the Mandatory Licensing Scheme. The Act also allows councils to introduce licensing schemes for other types of HMO that are not covered by the mandatory licensing scheme. These are known as Additional Licensing Schemes. Further details about the definitions of Mandatory and Additional Licensing Schemes are given in Appendix 1, Definitions & Explanation of terms’.

The council are aware of the management and property problems with some of its HMOs in the borough. In our housing strategy 2022-2027 we are considering extending Additional Licensing as part of our approach to improve management and property conditions and strengthen our positive relationships with landlords and managing agents operating in Thurrock.

Thurrock has a higher number of small HMOs 3 persons than mandatory licensable HMOs. There is evidence to support the need for licensing within the south parts of the borough; all have housing related issues impacting the local community around them. Many of the complaints we receive about HMOs are frequently from neighbouring residents rather than the HMO occupiers themselves, The impact of HMOs on neighbouring occupiers is heightened in areas with a cluster of small HMOs. This can lead to poor construction, lack of fire safety, overcrowding, small rooms, not enough amenities, increased noise, anti-social behaviour and more waste for council collection.

The Council’s current approach to tackling problems with HMOs is mostly driven by tenants who ask for help with improving their living accommodation. This means that difficult or potentially dangerous situations are only dealt with once they have arisen instead of being prevented in the first instance. 

An Additional Licensing Scheme would place a responsibility on the landlord to inform the council that their property is in multiple occupation and encourage them, with the council’s support, to ensure that they meet the required standards. The council can then focus on the landlords who fail to licence them and improve their housing standards, making the most effective use of its resources. 

The council also considers that the introduction of a borough wide Additional Licencing Scheme would;

• Allow the council to develop a more comprehensive database of HMOs and promote a more co-ordinated approach to them together with our partners.
• Better protect the health, safety, and welfare of the occupying tenants
• Reduce any detrimental impact on local neighbourhoods and reduce the number of complaints associated with HMOs
• Ensure that only the landlords who are fit and proper persons can have control of a HMO
• Increase resident satisfaction levels about the Council listening and acting on their local priorities

If you are a landlord and do not have planning permission in Thurrock you may be in breach of planning legislation and at risk of receiving an enforcement notice. Please visit https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/planning-enforcement/planning-breaches  for advice and information. 

Where planning permission is given, your property will be required to meet certain planning requirements but this would not necessarily mean that HMOs are safe for occupying tenants and meet the Essex HMO Amenity Standards. 

The council has the option of introducing an article 4 directive under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This will enable the council to require planning applications for change of use from C3 to C4 for all new HMOs up to and including 6 persons. Thurrock Council has not introduced an article 4 directive which can be applied to all or parts of the borough.

The proposed Additional Licensing Scheme, if approved, would require that landlords apply for a license for any HMO failing within the scope of the scheme. 

The proposed new scheme would apply to;

•  Any HMO regardless of storeys occupied by 3 or more persons in two or more households and where some or all facilities are shared such as bathroom, toilet or kitchen 
• Any flat including flats above shops occupied by 3 or more persons in two or more households and where some or all facilities are shared such as the bathroom, toilet or kitchen 
• All buildings owned by the same person converted into flats where less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied and the conversion does not comply with the 1991 building regulations or subsequent (Section 257 HMOs) 
• Hostels 
• Shared Houses 

The kinds of the property that would require a license under the proposed scheme include; 

Any HMO [house and bungalow], occupied by 3 or more persons in two or more households and where some or all facilities are shared or lacking 5 Any Flat, occupied by 3 or more persons in two or more households and where some or all facilities are shared or lacking 

Shared houses and flats, This will include bed-sit accommodation, houses rented out in rooms, or houses which are shared by friends, supported housing hostels, students, groups of professionals even where there is one single tenancy agreement. 

Bedsits or houses rented out in rooms, The tenants will have no connection with each other and the landlord rents rooms separately. The tenants will have exclusive use of their own rooms but will share one or more basic amenity 

All buildings owned by the same person that have been converted into self-contained flats that don’t comply with building regulations 1991 [or later]. This applies to all section 257 HMOs where less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied and do not comply with building regulations.

The Council’s Housing Strategy 2022-2027 takes into account the major changes in the housing sector and wider demographic and economic changes. The strategy addresses the challenges of a growing population, increased housing demand, delivering new homes, the impact of welfare reform, and growth and regeneration in the borough. 

There has been substantive growth in Thurrock’s private rented sector over the last 10 years to 2011 and this is forecast to grow. The number of households living in HMOs has been a significant increase in the 10 years up to 2011. As of 2011, this represented 2576 households in total. This demonstrates the need to a specific strategy to manage HMOs and ensure they are to a suitable standard. 

The proposed Additional Licensing Scheme will improve how small HMOs are regulated. The benefits are twofold in terms of strengthening engagement with private landlords and improving the housing quality across the private sector. The proposals for an Additional Licensing Scheme and this consultation forms part of this review to ensure all HMOs are managed to a suitable standard.

The person managing or having control of an HMO falling within the scope of the scheme would have to apply for the licence. If a managing agent is used, they can apply on the owner’s behalf. The proposed license holder must be a fit and proper person.

For section 257 HMOs, here are some examples who would need to apply for a licence, the freeholder for the common parts of the flats if there are no leasehold 6 titles, the freeholder for the common parts if there are leasehold titles, the leaseholder of individuals flats in multiple occupation .