HMO management services – what we do

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) have consistently out-performed other buy-to-let investments over the last few years, and with London continuing to boom and experience a growing population with limited new housing, this trend is likely to continue for many years to come.

Outlet have also been known for the professionalism and dedication we bring to property management, and you can see some of the regular services we offer on our main property management page

But looking after Houses in Multiple Occupation requires a lot more than ordinary management. It’s only ‘everyday’ in the sense that management often literally has to be done every day of the week. The council regulations are more stringent, there are more tenants, and there’s simply more to do – which is why it makes sense to trust the experts like us, who can be on call 24/7, every day of the year.

So as well as offering the standard letting services you’d expect, here’s how our HMO services go that much further:

• Ensuring your properties meet all national and local authority HMO guidelines – these are detailed, extensive and can be confusing, especially as they vary from council to council. Some landlords are unaware that their properties are HMO, while some properties you might expect to be classified as HMO aren’t – which could save you on unnecessary costs.
• Licencing management – we can arrange new HMO licences and renewals on your behalf. The same applies to EPCs and gas certificates.
• Fire, health & safety requirements – these are more stringent for HMO properties, and we will ensure that your property complies with all necessary regulations and has the required inspections.
• Insurance – again, there are special criteria for HMO properties, and we can help find you the best option and rates.
• Tenant management – with multiple tenants in one building this has to be handled much more carefully. For example taking and managing inventories (especially with shared facilities). There’s also the potential for disagreement between tenants, which again has to be managed. Plus of course, the extra time and care involved with multiple tenants when it comes to checking references, arranging viewings and so on.
• Occupancy – more tenants means a high turnover of tenancies, but with plenty of high quality potential tenants on our books, we can ensure a quick turnaround.
• Service and maintenance management – again, multiple tenants means that ensuring everything is covered, and in a fair way, can be more involving than with regular properties.
• Frequent visits – HMO properties should and will be inspected more regularly to ensure everything is running smoothly. We can do this every day if need be.
• Maintenance – HMO properties are likely to need more maintenance. We can source and organise plumbers, electricians, gas fitters and other tradespeople.
• Emergencies – why do they always happen at weekends? With higher occupancy, the risk of emergencies is higher, but don’t worry, whenever an emergency occurs, it’s not a problem for us – we’ll sort it out with minimum fuss.

Other areas we can advise on

These include:

• Conversion/refurbishment – to maximise your use of space and budget, and to make your property as attractive to tenants as possible.
• Financing – including cost planning and mortgages
• Sourcing professionals – including legal advice, conveyancing and so on, as well as all necessary tradesmen.
• Investing – from single properties through to building an HMO portfolio

Finally, we can make a real difference to the main benefit for having an HMO property – your bottom line. By managing properties and tenants to a high standard, we can make a major difference to your returns – in the case of one landlord, doubling their returns within three years, as this case study shows

For more details of how we can provide first class HMO management, please contact us