Landlords who already pay councils to license HMOs risk being charged again to provide much of the same information to the government’s new national landlord register, a property management platform has warned.
COHO Founder and Chief Executive Officer Vann Vogstad (main picture) says the principle of a national register is right but has questioned why existing local authority data cannot be transferred into the new system.
The warning follows government confirmation that its ‘Register your rental property’ service will launch on 15 December, beginning in the West Midlands before being rolled out across England over the following 12 months.
Landlords will pay £65 per property each year to register, with all actively let properties required to be registered by 14 November 2027.
EXISTING LICENSING
The issue could be particularly significant for HMO landlords, who are already subject to property licensing requirements administered by local authorities.
Large HMOs in England – generally those occupied by five or more people forming more than one household and sharing facilities – must be licensed, while councils can extend licensing to other HMOs.
Existing licensing requirements mean landlords already provide councils with substantial information about their properties and compliance. Government guidance requires licensed HMOs to meet conditions covering areas including gas safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and electrical safety.
HMO licences can last for up to five years, require a separate licence for each property and carry fees set by individual councils.
‘CHARGING TWICE’
Vogstad says: “A national register is the right idea, and moving rent disputes to the Valuation Office should speed decisions up for both sides.
“What is hard to accept is that councils already hold most of this. Anyone running a licensed HMO has already given their council the address, the bedrooms, the occupancy, the gas safety certificate, the electrical report and the EPC, and paid thousands for a licence to do it. Now they will pay £65 per property per year to enter the same information into a national system that those same councils will use.
“If the data already sits with the local authority, share it into the register, or discount the fee for licensed properties. Charging twice for one set of information is hard to justify to the landlords who are already the most heavily regulated in the sector.
“The minister says the system will support responsible landlords. This would be a straightforward way to prove it.”
NATIONAL ROLLOUT
The government says the database will give councils access to information intended to help identify rogue landlords and take enforcement action more quickly.
Landlords will have three months to register after the service reaches their region. In future, properties will also have to be registered before being advertised for rent, with registration numbers required on listings.
The reforms will also transfer initial decisions on challenges to rent increases to HMRC’s Valuation Office, with the government arguing this will produce faster decisions and reduce pressure on the tribunal system.
