Are you a landlord?

A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is a dwelling where three or more people forming two or more households share a facility, like a toilet, bathroom or kitchen.  Certain types of properties converted into self-contained flats also qualify as a HMO. 

All HMOs that have five or more people in them must be licensed by the local authority.  There is a fee for the licensing of each HMO.  

The current licence fee is £775 for a property consisting of up to 7 units, for any properties above 7 units there will be an additional £25 fee per additional unit. The council is responsible for maintaining a licensing scheme for properties of this type, so if your property fits the criteria please contact us.

•  HMO Licence Application Form
• Application guidance notes

With your application you must also provide:

• the appropriate licence fee
• a floor plan of the property indicating room sizes, location of the
bathroom, toilet and kitchen facilities plus the position of smoke alarms,
emergency lighting units and fire doors
• a copy of the current gas safety certificate, (if the property has a gas supply),which must be renewed annually. Any application received without this certificate will be invalid. Failure to provide an appropriate gas safety certificate within 7 days of request may result either in legal proceedings or a refused application. The case may also be referred to the Health and Safety Executive.

Any application received without these items will not be valid. 

If available, you should also provide:

• a copy of the fire alarm test certificate
• a copy of the emergency lighting test certificate
• a valid electrical test certificate
• a portable appliance test certificate for any electrical equipment you supply as part of the tenancy.
• a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate, if one is required for the
property.
• a declaration that all upholstered furniture supplied complies with
the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988

Please send completed Licence Application Form to Dudley MBC, Housing Enforcement Team, Harbour Buildings, Waterfront West, Brierley Hill DY5 1LN.   

An invoice will be raised for the application fee, once submitted application forms are received by the department.

See below for further guidance:-

• Licensing of houses in multiple occupation in England: a guide for landlords and managers 
• Guidance on mandatory licensing 

A list of current HMOs licensed by Dudley MBC can be found Public Register of HMO Licenses

We hold regular landlord forums to let you know about new legislation and provide advice and information.  

Details of our last landlords forum which took place on Wednesday 18th July 2018 with speakers covering topics including NLA News, Resettlement Services/Housing & Welfare, Lets for Life and Preventing Cannabis Cultivation. To view the presentations from our last forum please see below.

• NLA News presentation
• Resettlement Services, Housing & Welfare presentation
• Lets for Life presentation
• Preventing Cannabis Cultivation Presentation

Homestamp is an award-winning partnership consortium with a direct interest in private sector housing, comprising of Local Authorities, the private rented sector, Universities, Police and Fire Services.

Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme

Are you a landlord/managing agent of a residential premises that has ‘common areas’ such as shared hallways, kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms? If so the Smoke free legislation, which came into force in England on the 1st July 2007, applies to you.

Around 3.6 million people live in private rented accommodation. Whilst the majority of landlords provide good quality accommodation, a minority of landlords try to exploit their tenants - often targeting the most vulnerable in society, placing them in squalid, overcrowded or poor conditions. 

We have signed up to the Rogue Landlord Project and will investigate landlords where complaints have been made about them or their rented property.

Private sector landlords are required from 1 October 2015 to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their properties and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (e.g. coal fire, wood burning stove). After that, the landlord must make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each tenancy.

The Housing & Planning Act 2016 provides new powers which permit local housing authorities to seek banning orders where landlords or property agents have been convicted of a banning order offence. Dudley MBC have adopted the Banning Order Policy as provided below.