The Negotiator - Assessing HMOs (Estate agent comment only)

The Negotiator is looking for views from estate agents on the following controversial practice by local authorities:

A government consultation is currently live - ending Friday, 31 March - into the way Homes in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are valued for council tax in England.

It is in response to a growing number of Local Authorities (LAs) assessing HMO properties “in such a way as to attract a council tax band for each individual unit”, which one professional portfolio landlord says effectively amounts to “cash-starved councils trying to make money off the back of the poorest in society".

This is because the tenant then needs to pay the council tax, not the landlord, putting more financial pressure on the people who can least afford it, and during the cost of living crisis. He adds that this growing practice could be “the Sunak government's Poll Tax moment if not tackled immediately”.