New rules for landlords of HMOs came into force this week.

HMO is the official description for a rented house where five or more people from different families live together sharing the same facilities.

The latest regulations for “houses of multiple occupancy” are much more wide-reaching than before. Many more tenanted properties have come within the sweep of the revised legal requirements and all need to be licensed by the local authority whereas they didn’t previously.

The penalty for failing to adhere to the new rules can be a fine of up to £30,000.

Advance warning of what was to come sounded alarm bells at the town hall.

Councillors and housing officials are doing all they can to save landlords falling foul of the law through ignorance of the facts.

Housing officers have totted up how many local properties come within its scope.

“They estimate the new rules could affect as many as a thousand HMOs in the district,” a council spokesman reported.

“Quite a few rented properties will now be classed as houses of multiple occupation for the first time.

“As a result landlords will need to make sure their rental properties meet some basic standards to get a licence.

“The licensing standards apply to facilities in the house, fire detection and management arrangements.

“It’s not about the kind of property it is,” the spokesman emphasised.

“It can be a flat, small house, a flat over commercial units or even a bungalow.

“If there are five or more people from two or more different household groups all living together in the same house and sharing facilities like kitchens and bathrooms, it’s now classed as an HMO regardless of the number of storeys.

“This includes all bedsits, shared houses and some self contained flats.

“If the property is shared by seven or more people, landlords will also need to have planning consent to operate the HMO legally.”

With the new rules now in place, Wycombe District Council is urging landlords to get in touch and get their HMO licence in place to avoid higher costs “which they will incur through subsequent enforcement action being taken against them”.

Cabinet member for housing Councillor Julia Langley (pictured above) is concerned some property owners won’t be aware of the changes to the law.

She said: “While most professional letting agents will help landlords with the new HMO rules, there will be a lot of individual private landlords out there who might not even know about these new national rules which have come in.

“We don’t want anyone to get caught out by the new rules because there are some stiff fines so we’re doing all we can to spread the word with the local lettings community.

“It’s quite straightforward to apply for a licence.

“Our dedicated HMO team are ready to help guide landlords through the process and give any advice needed.”

Under the 2006 regulations, any landlord who rents out an HMO of any size has a duty to take reasonable safety measures, maintain electricity, gas and water supplies, look after communal areas, provide somewhere for tenants to dispose of waste (dustbins) and clear blocked drains.

“For the most part local landlords look after their properties and tenants properly,” Cllr Langley agreed.

“Sadly from time to time we do see serious cases where rogue owners are exploiting often vulnerable tenants and rental properties are illegal or unsafe for people to live in.

“We can and do step in and take enforcement action in these cases.

“Landlords then find out they can face going to court and be ordered to pay fines of thousands of pounds, often far more than it would have cost them to do the right thing and simply fix the problems in the first place.”