Can my council designate my area for additional HMO licensing?

### What the council must establish The council may designate either the whole district or part of it by reference to a description of HMO, including HMOs that would not otherwise fall within the mandatory licensing regime. Before doing so, it must consider that a significant proportion of HMOs of that description in the proposed area are being managed sufficiently ineffectively to have caused, or be likely to cause, one or more particular problems for their occupiers or members of the public [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec56]. The council must also consider whether other courses of action might effectively address the problem and whether additional licensing would significantly assist it to do so [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec57]. The designation must be consistent with the council's overall housing strategy. The council must also seek a coordinated approach to homelessness, empty property and anti-social behaviour in the private rented sector, including coordination with other responsible bodies [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec57]. ### Consultation and representations Before making the designation, the council must take reasonable steps to consult persons likely to be affected. As an owner, manager or other person with an interest in an affected HMO, you would ordinarily fall within the category of persons likely to be affected. The council must then consider any representations made in response to the consultation that have not been withdrawn [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec56]. The statutory provision requires consultation and consideration of representations, although the supplied sections do not establish a separate right to a public hearing or specify a minimum consultation period. You could explain that your property is properly managed, provide evidence of compliance, and identify problems associated with particular unmanaged properties. A council must assess the situation across the proposed designation area rather than treating one well-managed property as establishing that the statutory threshold is met. However, the consultation process is the appropriate place to provide evidence about the effectiveness of the proposed area-wide approach. ### The code of practice The council must have regard to information about the extent to which codes of practice approved under section 233 have been complied with by persons managing HMOs in the area [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec56]. The statutory test concerns an HMO code of practice approved under that provision. If the code followed by local landlords is not one approved under section 233, its contents and compliance may still be relevant evidence when considering management quality and whether designation would significantly assist in addressing the problems, but section 56(5) specifically directs the council to approved codes [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec56]. ### Effect on your property and existing licence Once a designation is in force, HMOs within the designated area that match a description specified in the designation fall within the additional HMO licensing regime [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec55]. An HMO within the regime must be licensed unless a temporary exemption notice or an interim or final management order is in force [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec61]. The regime can therefore affect properties that were let before the designation: section 76 expressly applies the licensing regime to occupation on or after the designation takes effect, including occupation that began under an earlier contract [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec76]. A designation does not, on the wording of the supplied provisions, itself state that all existing licence conditions are cancelled or replaced. Where the council later varies an existing licence, it may do so with the licence holder's agreement or where it considers that there has been a change of circumstances, expressly including the discovery of new information. Any change concerning the authorised number of occupants or applicable occupation standards is subject to the statutory variation procedure [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec69]. If the authority is considering a compulsory variation, it must generally apply the standards applicable when the licence was granted, subject to the provision allowing revised or superseded prescribed standards to be applied [cite:uk-housing-act-2004-sec69]. The supplied sections do not establish that the council may charge you a particular fee for an existing licence or prescribe an increased rent. Accordingly, they provide no basis for saying that designation itself either increases or reduces the cost of your existing licence. A new or varied licence may involve regulatory requirements, but the financial consequence would need to be established from the applicable fee provisions, licence conditions and the facts of the licence.