Guide to licensing houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)
The proposed manager
The proposed manager of the house is either:
(i) the person having control of the house; or
(ii) a person who is an agent or employee of the person having control of the house
The proposed manager must also be a fit and proper person and be a member of an approved property redress scheme.
Fit and proper person
The Council is required by law to be assured that the people involved in the management of a licensed HMO are fit and proper for that purpose. Thus, the Council, in deciding whether a licence should be granted, must have regard to evidence which shows that the proposed licence holder and / or the proposed manager, and any other person associated or formerly associated with them, are fit and proper persons.
The Government have decided that certain convictions preclude a person from being considered ‘fit and proper’ and therefore the Council must take into account any previous unspent convictions for the following matters when deciding whether a proposed licence holder or manager is ‘fit and proper’:
- violence, fraud, sex or drug offences
- Housing or Landlord and Tenant laws
- unlawful discrimination
The proposed licence holder must declare any matters which the Council must have regard to and a basic DBS check will be requested. Previous failures of management of an HMO which have resulted in enforcement action by the Council may preclude the proposed licence holder from holding a licence.