What we do, in detail

Four areas, all starting from the licence and its conditions.

Program 01 · Licensed, and to its limit

Shared housing

Mandatory licensing bites at five or more people in two or more households sharing an amenity, and councils add their own schemes on top — Birmingham has designated areas. We obtain the licence before letting and we observe the occupancy limit on it, which means sometimes leaving a room empty rather than exceeding the permitted number.

  • Per room
  • Sharers
  • Licence held
  • Limit observed

Start this program

Step 1 · Licensing

Whether and which scheme applies.

Step 2 · Licence

Obtained before anyone moves in.

Step 3 · Limit

Occupancy kept within it.

Step 4 · Let

Documents and contacts provided.

Step 1 · Display

Manager details in the property.

Step 2 · Escape routes

Kept clear, checked regularly.

Step 3 · Amenities

Shared facilities maintained.

Step 4 · Common parts

Repaired and kept clean.

Program 02 · The 2006 regulations

HMO management duties

The management regulations are unusually specific: the manager's name and contact details displayed in the property, means of escape kept clear and in order, fire precautions maintained, water, gas, electricity and common parts kept in repair and working order. They are also routinely ignored, which is why an inspection tends to find several at once.

  • Ongoing
  • Occupiers
  • Duties performed
  • Records kept

Start this program

Program 03 · Assessment kept current

Fire safety

Shared accommodation is where fire risk concentrates: more occupants, more ignition sources, escape routes passing other people's rooms. The fire risk assessment for the common parts is a legal requirement and has to be kept up to date rather than filed once. Detection and escape arrangements follow the assessment and the licence conditions, not convenience.

  • Ongoing
  • Occupiers
  • Assessment current
  • Equipment maintained

Start this program

Step 1 · Assess

Common parts, properly and in writing.

Step 2 · Detection

To the assessment, not the minimum.

Step 3 · Escape

Routes clear and doors working.

Step 4 · Review

Updated when anything changes.

Step 1 · Report

In writing, so the timeline is clear.

Step 2 · Assess

Against the hazard rating system.

Step 3 · Repair

Within a reasonable period.

Step 4 · Verify

Checked rather than assumed.

Program 04 · Fit throughout

Condition and repairs

Fitness for human habitation is a continuing obligation, not a condition met at the start of a tenancy, and hazards are assessed against the statutory rating system rather than by eye. Damp and overcrowding are the two that turn up most in shared housing, and both are building and management problems rather than occupant behaviour.

  • Ongoing
  • Occupiers
  • Reported in writing
  • Remedied reasonably

Start this program

Looking for a room, or letting a shared property?

Make an enquiry. Ask us for the licence number while you are at it.

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