New licensing rules for Bristol

Proposals approved for new Additional and Selective Licensing in Bristol.

Bristol City Council have just informed us, that they reported to the Council’s Cabinet, in the second week of December of last year (4 December 2021), asking for approval to bring into force new licensing schemes, in three wards across the city of Bristol. The new proposals were for Additional Licensing of Private Rented Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in Bedminster, Brislington West and Horfield wards and a Selective licensing scheme of most other privately rented properties in Bedminster and Brislington West wards. Both of these proposals were approved by the Council’s Cabinet and the scheme will come into force on 6 April 2022. The scheme will be in operation for five years. You can find a copy of the official Public Notice on the Council’s website.

Most privately rented properties (including HMOs) in Bedminster and Brislington West and HMOs in Horfield, will require a licence from 6 April 2022 and the Council have stated that each property will be inspected at least once during the lifetime of the scheme, to ensure that they meet licensing standards. In a recent blog, we talked about HMO compliance and licensing, and you may remember that: The Housing Act 2014 states that a house in multiple occupation (HMO) is a property rented out by 3 or more people from 2 or more households, who share facilities such as a kitchen and/or a bathroom.

If an HMO is tenanted by 5 people or more, it will require a mandatory licence but, in addition to mandatory licences, any council, at their own discretion, can apply additional licensing to an area of their choosing. If they do this then you will need an additional licence for a “small HMO” of 3-4 people from 2+ households. HMOs that require an additional licence will need to follow the licence criteria as laid out on the council website, for the appropriate number of people. When a Council brings into force Selective Licensing, this means that you will need a Licence for most other privately rented properties in that area. It is a legal requirement for landlords to make a licence application for each property that they let in the area that needs a licence. Failure to do so could result in enforcement action and prosecution. Landlords can also be ordered to pay back up to 12 months’ rent if they don’t apply for a licence when they are required to do so.

In the eyes of the council, there is no excuse for not licencing an HMO and the rent repayment orders can be very expensive, in September 2021 the council fined a landlord £48,000… not only that but if you have your “fit and proper person” status revoked, all of your HMO licences will be taken away, which could be very destructive for your portfolio!

We are waiting to receive confirmation on the pricing structure for these new areas of the city but, currently, an Additional Licence costs £1000 in Bristol. In addition to being an expensive piece of compliance, it can also be confusing. We regularly handle licensing applications for our clients, so feel free to contact us if we can help in any way.

If we can add value for you, with a truly passive property management solution, finding your next perfect tenant or you want to talk about compliance in your property, then give us a call on 0117 440 6789 or email us here