Birmingham · Shared and other accommodation

Unlicensed means
twelve months' rent.

An HMO without the licence it needs faces an unlimited fine, a rent repayment order of up to a year's rent, and no ability to serve a section 21 while unlicensed. Ask any shared-house landlord for the licence number.

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  • 2020trading since
  • HMOlicensed
  • 12 mthrent at risk
  • FRAkept current
A ROOM OR A HOUSE · WHAT WE CHECK Before we let 50 % complete Licence obtained first Occupancy limit observed Fire assessment current Manager details displayed Enquiry Free, no obligation Next step « We reply within 2 working days »
What we do

Four areas, one licence condition

The licence comes before the letting, and its occupancy limit is treated as a limit rather than a target.

Shared housing

Shared homes let by the room, licensed where licensing applies.

  • Shared homes
  • Rooms
  • Licensing
  • Occupancy
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HMO management duties

Managing to the specific duties the HMO management regulations impose.

  • Common parts
  • Contact details
  • Amenities
  • Repair
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Fire safety

Fire risk assessment, detection and escape arrangements for shared premises.

  • Risk assessment
  • Detection
  • Escape
  • Doors
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Condition and repairs

Keeping properties fit for habitation, with hazards assessed and disrepair remedied.

  • Fitness
  • Hazards
  • Damp
  • Disrepair
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How it works

How we work

Establish which licensing scheme applies and obtain the licence before letting, observe the occupancy limit on it, perform the HMO management duties specifically, and keep the fire risk assessment current.

Licensing first

Mandatory, additional or selective, established before letting.

Licence conditions observed

Including the permitted number of occupants.

Managed to the regulations

Details displayed, escape routes clear, amenities maintained.

Condition maintained

Hazards assessed, disrepair remedied on notice.

Working together

Ways to deal with us

Rooms are priced per week or per month and stated before an application. Licensing and compliance costs are ours, not passed on as extras.

A room

A room in a licensed shared home.

  • Licence number available
  • Occupancy within the limit
  • Fire detection in place
  • Manager details displayed
  • Gas record and EICR provided
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Most requested

A whole property

A shared house or other accommodation.

  • Licensing established first
  • Management duties performed
  • Fire assessment kept current
  • Repairs on written notice
  • Consistent application criteria
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What we are not

Said plainly, because these need registration.

  • Not a registered social housing provider
  • Not a care provider
  • No CQC-registered services
  • No letting above the licence limit
  • No letting while unlicensed
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A typical week Mon Enquiry Tue Licence Wed Check Thu Let Fri Manage
How we work

Shared housing, licensed before it is let

HRO Housing Ltd is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 12845578, based at Hockley Hill in Birmingham and trading since August 2020. Its activities are the provision of other accommodation and the letting of its own or leased property. It shares a director and registered office with HRO Estates Ltd, company number 11264086, which operates separately in residential investment and letting.

Shared housing carries the sharpest penalty regime in private renting. A house in multiple occupation needs a licence — mandatory where five or more people in two or more households share an amenity, and frequently under additional or selective schemes a council has designated, of which Birmingham has several. Operating without one is an offence attracting an unlimited fine or a financial penalty, it can produce a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent on a tenant's or the council's application, and no section 21 notice can validly be served while the property is required to be licensed and is not. So the licence comes before the letting and its occupancy limit is observed even when that leaves a room empty. The HMO management regulations and the fire risk assessment for common parts are treated as the specific, checkable duties they are. We are not a registered provider of social housing and we do not provide care.

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Frequently asked

The questions we get most

How do I know if a shared house is licensed?

Ask for the licence number and the issuing authority, and check it against the council's public register. Mandatory licensing applies at five or more occupants in two or more households sharing an amenity, and councils operate additional and selective schemes on top — Birmingham has designated areas. A landlord who cannot produce a licence number for a licensable property has a serious problem.

What happens to a landlord letting an unlicensed HMO?

Potentially a great deal. It is an offence carrying an unlimited fine on conviction or a financial penalty from the council, a rent repayment order can require repayment of up to twelve months' rent on the application of a tenant or the authority, and no section 21 notice can be served while the property should be licensed and is not. It is the heaviest exposure in the sector.

Why would you leave a room empty?

Because the licence states the maximum number of occupants and that is a condition, not a guideline. Exceeding it breaches the licence and risks the whole regime above. An empty room costs us rent; letting it in breach would cost considerably more and would also mean the house is more crowded than it was assessed as safe for.

What should be displayed in a shared house?

The manager's name, address and contact details, which the HMO management regulations require to be displayed in the property. Those regulations also require means of escape to be kept clear and in order, fire precautions maintained, and water, gas, electricity and common parts kept in repair and working order. If none of that is visible, it is worth asking why.

Do you provide support or care?

No. We provide accommodation. We are not a registered provider of social housing, which is a separate registration we do not hold and do not claim, and we do not provide care services — anything requiring registration with the Care Quality Commission is neither provided nor arranged by us. Where accommodation is provided with support, the requirements applying to that are complied with.

There is mould in my room and I have been told it is how I live. Is that right?

Usually not, and it is not an answer we give. Fitness for human habitation is a continuing obligation and damp normally has a building cause — ventilation, insulation, a defect, or overcrowding relative to what the property can take. Report it in writing so the timeline is documented, and we will look for the cause rather than start with your behaviour.

Looking for a room, or letting a shared property?

Make an enquiry. Ask us for the licence number while you are at it.

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