A few people have asked me how to check a property before signing a rental contact to occupy it as sharers. You can check quite easily via the City Council website but clicking this link:
http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decB/Licensing_applications_search_occw.htm
You will arrive at the search start page where you need to click the blue “I accept” button which you find by scrolling down a bit through the text. You can read the guidance notes there if you wish. Once you’ve clicked the accept button you get taken to the search page where you can just type in the start of a street address. If you are searching for an existing licence rather than application it’s important to click the radio button to choose licences (circled in red) rather than applications otherwise you won’t find what you want.
I’ve chosen 15 Regent Street just as a random address that I know is an HMO. Once you’ve hit the search button you should get a results screen that looks like this (without the red circle):
If you click on “HMO Details” (circled in red) you’ll get another screen that shows you other things like how many rooms there are and how many occupants the license allows. These are important things to check. It is also very important to check that the license has not expired as this system will show those too. If it will expire during the period of your proposed tenancy then ask the letting agent or landlord what they are going to do about that.
If you cannot find a license for a property you are considering renting then I would advise you to contact the City Council for advice before signing a contract or paying any sort of deposit or holding fee. Don’t let an agency or a landlord bully you into rushing into anything as if there is no HMO license you will not be protected by the City Council and could be signing a lease for a dangerous or otherwise defective property. The landlord and letting agent will also be acting illegally if they let a property that does not have a license. I should say that if you don’t find a property on this search it may be because the application or license is still in processing. It doesn’t automatically mean the landlord or letting agent is doing anything wrong but it does mean you should check.
Phone: 01865 249811
Email: hmos@oxford.gov.uk
109 St Aldate’s Chambers,
St Aldate’s,
Oxford,
OX1 1DS
I hope people find this useful – it’s applicable to all those looking to share houses, not just students. Remember though that being included on the public access HMO register no more makes a landlord or letting agent good than not being included on it makes a landlord or letting agent bad.