FAQs by Landlords

Is an HMO a good investment?

As long as there is a demand for rooms in the area and you are fully compliant with local regulations – it is by no means a great investment strategy.

A well setup and looked after HMO property will yield much higher returns compared to a single let.

Another advantage of running an HMO is that impact of tenants breaching an AST is greately reduced, due to the fact that there are multiple independant tenancies in the house. It is much more easier to deal with independant tenancy in resolving any issues, without having an adverse affect from the enire house.

Also, Landlords and managing agents have much more control over premises and can visit and inspect common areas at any time, without the need to obtain permission from tenants to enter the property.

What do I need to run a compliant HMO?

For typical HMO you would need HMO license, Gas certificate, EPC certificate, electric certificate, PAT certificate, fire alarm certificate, emergency escape lights certificate, fire risk assessment report and planning permission.

What does it takes to self-manage HMOs?

The work requires to manage HMOs far exceeds what is typically necessary for sigle lets. Tenants would expect pretty much all maintenance issues to be resolved by Manager.

On top of that you would need to supply and maintain all furniture and white goods, as well as manage all utilities, broadband, housekeeping and additional mandatory safety checks and certification.

In addition, majority of maintenance works, certificates renewals and other mandatory inspections must be done by qualified engineers. You would need to have access to reliable and trustworthy service providers and be aware about fair market rates for a particular service you are requesting.

There is also an ongoing process of tenancies rotation, which would require you to constantly market your rooms, carry out viewings and manage check-ins and check-outs.

Besdies all that there is also a possibility of some tenants not getting on well with each other for whatever reason and you would need to be helping them with resolving all sort of internal conflicts and complaints.

What do HMO managers do?

HMO Managers take on the responsibility for making sure that the property is run and managed in line with the The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.

Different management company services can vary, some companies don’t look after the HMO licensing aspects and evictions or utility bill management. At Prime Property Care we pride ourselves of taking care of every single aspect related to your property.

What is my involvement if you manage my HMO?

We strive to make it as little as practically possible. It all depends on each landlord’s preferences:

We have some landlords who pre-approved certain budgets for repairs and prefer not to be contacted about anything that’s below the set budget and to have a call twice a year to discuss any updates in the industry and simply receive the rent and monthly summary online every month.

We also have some landlords who prefer to be a bit more involved when it comes to any repairs and we would communicate with them more often.

Non of our Landlords are involved in tenants communications, complaints, tenants turnaround, certificate renewals, inpections, etc. We would be doing it all automatically as part of our service and would be updating Landlords on a monthly bases via summary reports.

What’s included in your management fee?

• arranging, tracking and managing all neccessery certificates and checks
• decorating and markeitng rooms
• carrying out viewings
• referencing tenants
• singing AST agreements on your behalf
• carrying out regular inspections
• tracking and collecting rents
• managing arrears and evictions
• managing all utility bills
• responding and resolving all maintenance requests
• managing regular housekeeping
• marketing rooms and finding tenants (including marketing cost)
• comprehensive monthly financial statements
• managing HMO license application and renewals

What’s not included in your management fee?

• Running cost: utility bills, broadband, insurance, council tax and housekeeping;
• Maintenance cost: repairs or replacement of furnuture, beds, mattresses, white goods and other fixtures and fittings;
• Contractor cost: any works at the property by qualified professionals, engineers and specialists, such as for example boiler maintenance or certificates renewal fees;

What are the biggest risks with HMOs?

Non-paying tenants, non-compliance with latest HMO regulations, not following required process for referencing tenants and renting rooms, inadequate health and safety checks and preventive works, etc.

HMO is a high risk property and as a result there are much more regulations and requirements to adhere to, which are essential in maintaing high standards with these type of investments.

Can you set up my property as HMO and license it?

Yes we can. Setting up the property in line with the local council regulations is part of our management service, same as preparing and submitting the HMO licence application, all requires certificates, Fire Risk Assessments and managing any required inspections.

Who will live at my HMO?

We work with working professional tenants in all age groups. Living in high quality and well maintained HMO property is becoming more and more popular for mature working professionals after 30 and this is the biggest percentage of our tenants.

All our tenants have passed referencing such as income checks, Right to Rent, Landlord references and CCJ checks. When taking on our tenants we look at the person’s character too as taking on a new tenant is like inviting a new family member to our PPC family.

How do you manage utilities?

All utility bills are managed by our team as well as the usage. We track and update usage every two weeks and we also constantly work on improvements on how to reduce the gas, electric and water bills such as smart metres, thermostatic timers, motion sensors, educating tenants, etc., to make sure the energy is not used when not needed when no one is at home.

How long does it take to get my HMO ready and rented?

It all depends at what stage your property is. If it is a brand new HMO setup with no fire safety and that requires some work, furnishing and licensing then it could take up to 2 month to have it up and ready and rented.