By Hosting Ukrainians as a tenant - an act of kindness or a legal minefield ?
Someone asked the question on a forum recently as to whether landlords should allow tenants to host Ukrainian refugees, and after thinking about it for a while I realised it was not a simple question to answer.
The tenants wanted to host some Ukrainian friends who are now refugees and this would have led to there being 4 adults in the house. It was not clear if this meant there were 1, 2 or 3 Ukrainians being hosted. The person who asked the question has spoken to the Council and been told that it was ok.
My first reaction to this was that the Council advice was completely incorrect and this would make the property a HMO (3 or more people from 2 or more households). Although it would not fall under mandatory licensing, if there was an additional licensing scheme in operation in the area then it could lead to it being an unlicensed HMO and liable for a heavy fine.
But, if the owner of the property lives in the property then the situation is different. According to government guidance, owner occupiers can let to 2 additional people who are not family members before it is considered to be a HMO.
So, whether the above risks breaching regulations depends on how many additional non family members would be staying.
Also, I don't think the above applies at all if the owners of the property are not taking rent from those staying. Obviously the government payment of £350 a month for people taking in Ukrainian refugees muddies the water a bit. Is this considered a de facto rent ?
It is an interesting question though and one that it would be good to have the government clarify as I am sure there are many tenants who would like to help out Ukrainian refugees. As long as it does not put landlords at risk of prosecution why would we not support it?
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