I have two student hmo s in brighton which i have been renting on joint tenancies with no locks on doors for 13 years.
Hmo locks on bedroom doors.
Students migrants workers people in receipt of housing benefit etc.
Hi mike consensus is if the hmo is a single joint ast living as a group there is not a requirement to fit locks.
Hmo locks on bedroom doors quest.
3 weeks ago.
While it is vital to have protected escape routes for individually let bedrooms and self contained flats.
The locks may make the property a hmo for council tax purposes but under the housing act 2004 any property occupied by 3 unrelated persons i e.
I d much rather not have locks on the bedroom doors in the 5 bed student house i own.
1 if the house is burgled then the damage will be more substantial if thieves break down locked doors.
1 many councils will transfer the council tax liability onto the landlord.
This year some students are requesting locks on doors perhaps because they are not a group who knew each other before.
And yes mine are thumb turn it s an hmo license requirement.
And 2 each tenant has as much right to enter flos sons room as any of the other joint tenants they all have equal rights to all of it.
Locks on bedroom doors for single tenancy agreement sharers is a no no for 2 reasons.
However if it is multiple tenancies then the tenant is not renting the use of the entire house but the room so it should have a lock.
Apart from the legal position there are other reasons why landlord s should resist putting locks on bedroom doors when all the tenants have signed one agreement.
Doors that need to be fitted with security locks shall be fitted with a type of security lock that can be opened from the room side of the door without the aid of a key.
We put these on the bedroom doors and on the front and back doors as well.
It is also essential in hmo property to fit fire doors with self closers to all bedrooms.
Thumb locks give the property an escape route.
If there is a fire then the situation would be made much deadlier if a tenant can t get through a door because it is locked and the key isn t to hand.
Unfortunately this is what they want so i have to supply it if i want to let the house.
For an additional hmo the bedroom doors will need a thumb turn lock on the inside so that the door can be opened without a key citing this.