Cardiff HMO amenity standards

In Wales the prescribed description for mandatory HMO licensing is still an HMO of three storeys or more, occupied by five or more people living in two or more households. That comes from the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (Wales) Order 2006. Cardiff’s licensing guidance applies that test across the whole city, covering shared houses, bedsit conversions and houses with flats that are not fully self-contained.

Legislation: WSI 2006/1712, article 3.

Cardiff has declared additional licensing in two areas. Shared Regulatory Services records the Cathays scheme taking effect on 1 July 2010, again on 1 January 2016 and again on 1 February 2023 for five years. The Plasnewydd scheme first took effect on 3 November 2014 and went live again on 1 January 2021 for five years. Inside those areas the schemes cover most rented property with three or more occupiers forming two or more households, whatever the number of storeys, and the council must re-declare each scheme at the end of its term.

Source: SRS — HMO Licensing in Cardiff.

Cardiff’s guidance says licensing exists to ensure a house is safe for the occupants and that the landlord is competent and fit to manage it. Houses must have adequate fire precautions and sufficient kitchen and bathroom amenities for the number of occupants. After a valid application, officers inspect, issue a draft licence with conditions and allow at least 14 days for representations before the full five-year licence. Conditions can require fire safety and amenity works, and breaching them risks prosecution.

The amenity yardstick in Wales is Schedule 3 to the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2006, which prescribes standards for deciding whether an HMO is suitable for a given number of occupants. Officers also assess hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Because SI 2018/616 is an England-only instrument, the 6.51 m² and 10.22 m² licence conditions used by English councils are not the Cardiff test.

Legislation: WSI 2006/1715.

An application needs a gas safety certificate, a current electrical installation condition report, fire alarm and emergency lighting certificates and a fire safety risk assessment. Cardiff’s fee table charges an initial payment, then a second payment after inspection that is higher where the property is found non-compliant, with bands by property type and bedroom count. Current figures are on the SRS page. Sale route: Sell an HMO in Cardiff.

Under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, private landlords must register with Rent Smart Wales, and whoever carries out letting and management work needs a licence. Rent Smart Wales says those duties sit on top of HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004. Cardiff Council acts as the licensing authority for Rent Smart Wales across Wales. On planning, Cardiff’s HMO planning page states permission has been required for all HMOs, whether three to six or seven or more people, since February 2016.

Source: Rent Smart Wales — About.

Wales shares the Housing Act 2004 HMO definition with England but keeps its own mandatory licensing description and amenity regulations. Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate HMO statutes altogether. National overview: HMO licensing in Wales · HMO standards.