Follow these necessary steps to prepare your HMO for renting and ensure that it is legally compliant.
1 – Licensing.
Before anything else, you must contact your local authority, and check whether you must obtain an HMO licence.
If licensing is necessary – find out exactly what you need to do to be granted a license.
If you are unsure, speak to us, and we can help you with obtaining an HMO licence.
2 – Legal Obligations
As with other rental properties, you must ensure that you have met all other requirements and checks when you prepare your HMO to meet compliance.
For example:
- EICR Checks
- Gas Safety
- Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
- HMO Licensing (If applicable)
3 – Decoration
The property should be decorated and furnished appropriately for HMO tenants.
Ideally, the decoration, furnishings and white goods should be neutral and easy to maintain.
This is particularly important when preparing your HMO properties, as due to the increased number of tenants, they experience wear and tear faster than a single-let rental property, for example.
4 – Internet Connection
Today, all tenants will expect a high-speed, reliable internet connection, so you must ensure that the quality of the internet matches their expectations.
Remember that each tenant may have multiple devices connected at once, so it is important to choose broadband that can handle the increased network traffic.
5 – Assigning Keys
Be sure to cut a suitable number of keys for each tenant in the property.
Each tenant should be supplied with the following:
- A key to their room.
- A front door key.
Be sure to cut spares for yourself.
6 – Management Strategy
Plan how you are going to manage the HMO, will it be entirely self-managed? Or will you employ an HMO managing agent to assist with the management?
A managing agent will offer services to help prepare your HMO, such as:
- Marketing & viewings.
- Tenant referencing, renting, and rent collection.
- Property Inventory
- Check-in/out.
Our HMO management service offers landlords and investors flexible management solutions for their HMO property, giving them more time to spend on other aspects of their portfolio.
7 – Paperwork and Documentation
Documentation such as tenancy agreements, property inventories, and deposit scheme information should be prepared with regard to the conditions you wish to impose.
Prepare all necessary documents before even marketing the property, to ensure that all information is as accurate as possible for prospective tenants.
8 – Display Important Information
Designate a particular area to display information such as:
- Emergency contact information
- Landlord/property manager contact information (maintenance)
- Recycling & rubbish collection times
- Fire escape route
- Health and safety information
This information must be visible to all tenants, so it’s best to place it in a communal area such as a kitchen.
9 – Cleaning & Routine
To ensure tenant satisfaction, the property should be cleaned thoroughly before any tenants move in and preferably before taking viewings.
Once tenants have moved in, it is important to keep the communal areas as clean as possible.
While it is possible to delegate the communal area cleaning to the tenants via a cleaning rota, many more seasoned HMO landlords opt to employ a regular professional cleaning service for the communal areas and factor the cost into the rent.
10 – Final Checks
Prepare your HMO before marketing the property.
Test that all electric and plumbing, appliances and white goods are working as intended.
These checks are especially important for the tenant’s rooms, as tenants may not feel content with paying the full rent if certain electrics or plumbing are not working.
11 – Marketing Strategy
Presentation and communication are everything when it comes to finding the right tenants, as such it is imperative that you take good photos of the property which shows it in the very best light.
These high-quality photos will serve as the driver for your property’s marketing.
Some landlords opt to use managing agents to take professional photos of the property.
Managing agents will also offer marketing and tenant referencing services to speed up the renting process.
If you are interested in the benefits of HMO property as an investment or would like to speak more about whether it is right for you, speak to us today, we’d love to hear from you.
