Frances Millar

To be frank...

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A THREATENING email from my local council dropped into my inbox the other day. According to some twonk in the housing office, my upstairs neighbours and I must immediately apply for a “Selective Property Licence under Section 257 HMO” (me neither) or risk a £30,000 fine.

The warning was in bold, because of course, thicker letters are more menacing. It’s the council’s equivalent of a muscled goon with a teardrop tattoo standing in the background polishing a knuckleduster.

The email “explained” that the two flats themselves did not require a licence but the house did. Huh? When I bought the flat two years ago, my solicitor never mentioned needing a building licence, or anything about the property being classed as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) - mainly because neither of those things are true.

As both flats had been previously rented, we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they made a mistake based on outdated information. It happens.

Not so it would seem. What

Threat