Setting up a HMO Property

The correct set up of a HMO from the start is vital to how well the HMO will work.

Safety

The property must be safe.  This is for all HMO from a 2 person plus house share.

( any property with 2 or more unrelated sharers is a HMO) This is in council tax terms and should be considered when dealing with the safety aspects of your HMO.

Safety aspects to be considered

  • All external doors and bedroom doors need fire rated thumb turn locks.  This is to ensure all tenants can leave in the case of a fire , without them having to hunt for keys.
  • Fire rated handles that are robust.  Some modern looking styles are not fit for purpose as they only look good and after 3 months of use will drop off.
  • Fire doors 30mins should be put on kitchens and high risk areas.  Larger properties require fire doors on bedroom doors too.
  • Fire doors must be fitted with closures and cold seals. Closures should be well fitted and not fitted to flimsy pinned in door surrounds.
  • Fire doors should be well fitted and installed by a competent installer to ensure they are fit for purpose and have adequate gaps. ( checked with a fire door checking tool)
  • Fire alarms to be installed on each storey and also bedrooms when a property is a certain size.  Heat alarms and alarms in fire boarded cupboards that house meters or appliances.  Fire alarms installed and serviced by a engineer/ electrician
  • Carbon monoxide alarms should be installed where needed
  • Any internal doors with single pane glass should be removed.  These are classed as high risk/ dangerous
  • meters exposed should be boxed in with fire rated boarding
  • No smoking / vaping or charging electric scooters in communal areas, along with fire safety.
  • Tenants need to be aware that smoking and vaping should not take place in any part of the property
  • Fire blankets in kitchen areas.
  • Do not supply fire fighting equipment, unless you have a trained live in manager to over see this. The local council want tenants to be educated on leaving the property and not fighting fires
  • The property must have adequate amount of waste bins.  The council prefer tenants to recycle so often you have 1 green bin for waste and 2 recycling bins.  Tenants must have education and a rota for bin waste.
  • Set up a cleaning for communal space at least every fortnight , to ensure the house is kept in good order. Tenants are responsible for cleaning but cant guarantee the areas will be kept in good order relying on tenants. The cleaner can also be eyes and ears every week / fortnight.
  • Supply cleaning items, hoover, mop,brush bucket to help tenants to keep areas clean.
  • Ironing board- Iron ( saves your carpets)
  • Rear electric shutters must have a manual turner for fire safety
  • The house should be safe and secure and have adequate security in place.
  • Security includes the external yard area.

En-suites

  • Ensuites should be built with 2024 in mind.  Humans are bigger than 90s humans.  Folk are getting taller and wider.  Don’t build an en-suite that’s going to have very little space to move in.
  • Showers should be built to have access to traps
  • Shower rooms need ventilation
  • Build your ensuite to be water proof and clean.
  • No tiles ( these are thing of the past) good robust cladding for cleaning and quick turn around.
  • Hard – water proof flooring – easily cleaned and built to last

Kitchens

  • Provide enough cupboards and amenities for everyone in the household.
  • Good sized fridge freezer
  • washer
  • Dryer
  • Kettle
  • Toaster
  • Make sure the kitchen is made to be robust and can take several bodies and higher use than a normal home. Factor in that the house will be used in higher use than average home and there will be things that need repair / replace quicker than usual.

Rooms

  • Bedroom doors should have thumb turn fire rated handles and shouldnt be cheap yale lock ( close behind you) locks. This is important
  • Double beds- no adults want to sleep in a single bed
  • Wardrobe
  • Drawers
  • Side cabinet
  • Desk and chair
  • Black out blinds / curtains

Hazards

  • The property should be free from hazards
  • Health and safety checked
  • Free from anything that can cause trips and falls
  • Damp and condensation
  • Windows should have restrictions on where required
  • Safety bars on low level windows
  • Fire escape windows from bedrooms leading off high risk areas like kitchen / laundry

Painting / Decor

  • A totally white everywhere property will need to be refreshed every 12 months
  • Avoid Matt paints for any colours
  • Avoid Fashion – that gets tired quick
  • Avoid fancy wallpapers – get tired quick
  • Wallpaper in WC- bathrooms _ just NO
  • Chose hard wearing robust paints that will last and wont tire quick.
  • Be reasonable that areas will need to keep getting refreshed to keep the property in good order.

Flooring

  • HMOs have a lot of footfall so you want to have a good robust flooring that will stand the test of time.
  • Good flooring that is able to be kept clean and hygienic
  • carpets in bedrooms, choose a good carpet.  No weave cheap thin carpet.  Carpet laid without underlay will not last
  • Cheap badly laid non water proof laminate will decay very quickly

Plumbing.

  • Make sure you have a good plumber that doesnt push fit the whole pipework.  This is cause endless issues. Also you want to be able to have iso valves in all areas you can cut off in emergencies.
  • The plumber should be confident in making falls for ensuites to avoid back ups
  • JUST NO to the mechanical electric saniflow toilets that cause endless issues and actually scary poop episodes.

Electrics

  • Electrics must be safe and in line with current standards.
  • Most HMOS now have a each room on, so when a tenant plugs something in and trips the board its only their room that goes off.

Pests

  • Pest proof your property from day 1
  • City houses are now plagued with nuisance of rats and mice.  Its everywhere and not always down to the tenants or the house. Neighbours in terraced properties might already have the problem and are infecting the house. If you can do as much pest proofing as possible from the start it can help reduce the nightmares.
  • Also prevention treatment to prevent pests.

Common problems with HMOS

  • Rubbish / waste nightmares
  • Pests
  • Drains and sinks
  • Electric issues
  • Plumbing
  • Saniflows
  • Lock outs