Health and Safety
There is a multitude of legislative provisions that impose Health and Safety obligations and/or liabilities on the owners or managers of HMOs. These include:
The Occupiers Liability Act 1957;
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) under Housing Act 2004
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
The Management of House in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006
Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988
Under the Occupiers Liability Act, an HMO landlord will owe a duty of care to an occupier who is a licensee and, in respect of the common parts, to an occupier who is a tenant. Breach of this duty could give rise to a civil claim made by an occupier or visitor.
The HHSRS is enforced by the Local Authority who can inspect the property to decide if a ‘hazard’ is present. These hazards can arise from such things as: heat, cold, damp, pollutants, crowding, noise, bad sanitation and food safety, pests, danger of falling, electrical and fire hazards, structural collapse.
A hazard score is calculated from each hazard according to its severity and likelihood of occurrence. If the local authority become aware of a Category 1 hazard, they must take enforcement action, which might include: hazard awareness notices, improvement notices, prohibition order and emergency remedial action.
A person against whom any enforcement action is taken has a right of appeal against it to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
The Management of House in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 apply irrespective of whether an HMO is licensable or not.
These regulations require an HMO landlord or manager to:
- Ensure that all means of fire escape are in good order and free from obstruction;
- Maintain fire fighting equipment;
- Take all reasonable steps (having regard to the nature of the building) to protect the occupiers from injury;
- Maintain the water supply and drainage;
- Maintain the gas supply and electricity;
- Maintain the common parts, fixtures, fittings and appliances;
- Keep the garden, boundary walls, fences, shared yards and buildings in safe condition;
- Maintain the internal structure, fixtures and fittings, windows and ventilation;
- Provide adequate facilities for waste disposal.
It is a criminal offence to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the HMO Management Regulations. The local authority can bring a prosecution in the magistrates’ court or, alternatively, impose a fixed penalty.