Agenda and draft minutes

None declared.

The Leader of the Council considered a report that sought approval to approve changes to the mandatory Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) licence fee to take effect from 1st April 2025.

The proposed licence fee was £965 for houses of up to 5 rooms, made up of a Part A fee of £525 and a Part B fee of £440.  For properties with more than 5 rooms, an additional charge of £35 per room each extra room is proposed.

It was noted that on the 24th February 2025 a Fees and Charges report was presented to Cabinet.  That report included the correct licence fee in relation to the mandatory licensing of HMOs, but under 2.7(l) incorrectly advised that the fee was for noting only and not Cabinet approval – “Mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation – increases between 9.34% and 37.46%. This is for noting only and not Cabinet approval”.

HMO licence fees were not included within Schedule 1 of the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000 (as amended), and as such the setting of fees for these licences was an Executive function by virtue of section 9D of the Local Government Act 2000.

To correct this error a decision was sought to approve the mandatory HMO licence fee as stated in the report of the 24th February 2025. 

An urgent decision was required before the next scheduled Cabinet meeting and it was not considered necessary or practical to call a special Cabinet meeting.

The proposed decision was being considered under paragraph 2.11 (urgency procedure – Leader’s Action) of Part 4.4 of the Executive Procedure Rules as set in the Constitution.

Prior to taking the decision, it was confirmed that:

·  The relevant Lead Member for both housing and finance had been consulted through the February Cabinet report process and supported the recommendations;

·  The Leader had considered whether a special meeting of the Cabinet be convened to consider this matter, but had decided that this was not practical given the need to implement the new fees as soon as possible.

·  It was noted that the relevant notice of a key decision had been published.

·  The decision was subject to a five day call-in period.

The Leader considered the report that had been published and asked about the justification for the fee increase.  It was noted that the proposed fees were calculated to recover the full cost of carrying out the service, which was not the case previously.  The fees remained lower than several neighbouring authorities.

After due consideration the Leader agreed the recommendation.

Resolved –  That the changes to the mandatory Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) licence fee as set out in Appendix 1 to the report be approved, effective from 1st April 2025.