What are Management Regulations and to which HMOs do they apply?
Management Regulations (The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006) apply to all HMO’s (whether or not they are licensable) and impose certain duties on managers and occupiers of such buildings. Broadly those duties include a requirement that:
The Manager
- provides his or her contact details to the occupiers
- keeps means of escape from fire free from obstruction and in repair and maintains fire fighting equipment and alarms
- takes reasonable measures to ensure that the occupiers of the HMO are not injured on account of its design and structural condition
- ensures there is adequate drainage from the HMO and an adequate water supply and such supply is not unreasonably interrupted
- supplies annual gas safety certificates (if gas is supplied) to the council when requested, carries out safety checks on electrical installations every five years and ensures the supply of gas(if any) and electricity is not unreasonably interrupted
- keeps in repair (including decorative repair) and good order the common parts including any fixtures and fittings within it)
- maintains any shared garden and keeps in repair any structures belonging to the HMO
- keeps in repair the occupiers’ living accommodation within the HMO, including fixtures and fittings; and
- provides suitable facilities for the disposal of rubbish.
- Ensure there are management procedures in place to effectively manage the property, for example Anti-social behaviour, tenancy management, repair reporting procedure.
The Tenant
Tenants in HMO’s are specifically required to co-operate in the management of the property, avoid nuisance and annoyance to neighbours and other occupiers, and comply with reasonable instructions regarding means of escape and other fire precautions.