So, is summer behind us already?

September always feels a little bit like a second New Year to me.

Everyone returns from holidays feeling supercharged and ready to dive into the final quarter of the year, take another step towards those goals, tick a few more boxes off the Trello to-do list and finally complete some of those exciting projects we have been working on.

And I have to say, we have been incredibly spoiled with sunshine this summer, so our batteries really should be fully charged by now.

That perhaps even includes all the working parents who have spent the summer juggling work, school holidays, childcare and the constant mission of entertaining the children while somehow trying to create some truly special memories along the way.

I feel very lucky that we managed to create some beautiful moments with our children this summer.

I keep a little travel journal when we go away and, looking through it recently, this note from one of our days in Greece brought me straight back there.

And somehow, just like Amanda’s sandcastle disappearing into the sea, summer seems to disappear incredibly quickly too.

September Brings New Energy – Especially for Property Projects

Coming back to work, I can really feel a different energy.

I feel as though all our property projects have been rolling slowly forward throughout the summer like snowballs – and now everyone is ready to finally build the snowman.

Everything inevitably takes that little bit longer during summer. Contractors go on holiday, team members and colleagues take annual leave, suppliers slow down and the property industry generally seems to move at a slightly different pace.

Then September arrives.

And suddenly everyone is ready to GO.

This September is particularly exciting for us because we are developing something that I believe could help a lot of HMO landlords.

Introducing Our HMO Property Set-Up and HMO Compliance Review Service

At Prime Property Care, our main focus has traditionally been professional HMO property management.

However, over the years we have realised that not every HMO landlord wants or needs full property management.

Many landlords genuinely enjoy managing their properties themselves.

They may live nearby, have good relationships with their tenants and be perfectly comfortable arranging maintenance, collecting rent and dealing with the everyday management of the property.

What they sometimes need isn’t another managing agent.

They simply need an HMO specialist to look at their property with a fresh pair of eyes.

That is why we are developing our HMO Property Set-Up and HMO Compliance Review service.

The idea is simple.

You continue managing your property.

We help you identify potential gaps in its HMO set-up, management processes, documentation and compliance arrangements.

Can a Beautiful HMO Still Be Non-Compliant?

Absolutely – and this is something landlords don’t always realise.

One of the most important things I want to emphasise is that a compliance issue does not automatically mean someone is a bad landlord.

We regularly see properties where the landlord has clearly invested significant amounts of money.

The house is beautifully decorated.

Maintenance is completed.

The tenants are looked after.

The bedrooms and communal areas are immaculate.

From the outside, everything looks perfect.

This is where gaps can begin to appear.

The property itself might be in exceptional condition.

The landlord simply hasn’t been given the right HMO-specific guidance.

HMO Fire Safety Is Much More Than Installing Smoke Alarms

One of the biggest areas of misunderstanding we encounter is HMO fire safety.

Installing smoke alarms and fire doors is not necessarily the end of the landlord’s responsibilities.

Fire precautions have to remain effective.

Depending on the individual property and the precautions required, there may be ongoing requirements around inspection, testing, servicing, maintenance and record keeping.

The exact requirements will always depend on the individual property, its layout, occupancy, licensing arrangements and fire precautions.

That is why a generic checklist downloaded from the internet isn’t necessarily enough.

“My HMO Was Inspected by the Council, So Surely It Is Compliant?”

This is something we hear surprisingly often.

A council inspection and the granting of an HMO licence are obviously important.

However, they shouldn’t be treated as a permanent guarantee that everything within the property will remain compliant for the duration of the licence.

HMO compliance is an ongoing management responsibility.

“Can I demonstrate that my HMO is being properly managed and its compliance requirements are being maintained today?”

The question that matters now — not only when the property was licensed

Why HMO Compliance Can Be Difficult for Landlords to Navigate

I genuinely sympathise with landlords on this point.

The rules surrounding HMO properties aren’t always presented in a simple, easy-to-follow document.

There can be several layers to consider: legislation, HMO licence conditions, local authority standards, fire-safety guidance, property-specific risk assessments and the individual characteristics of the building itself.

Licence conditions may also refer landlords to external guidance, including established fire-safety guidance for residential properties.

A landlord running another business or working full time isn’t realistically going to spend hundreds of hours studying every page of technical guidance and legislation relating to HMO property management.

But unfortunately, not knowing that a requirement exists doesn’t necessarily remove the landlord’s responsibility.

This is exactly where specialist HMO advice can be valuable.

What About HMOs Managed by High-Street Letting Agents?

Compliance gaps aren’t limited to properties managed directly by landlords.

We have also reviewed HMOs managed by traditional letting agents where important HMO-specific processes or records weren’t readily available.

That doesn’t necessarily make them bad letting agents.

HMO management is simply a specialist area.

Managing a conventional single-let property and professionally managing a licensed HMO are very different things.

A traditional letting agent may be excellent at advertising properties, referencing tenants, preparing tenancy documentation and collecting rent.

HMO property management introduces another layer of responsibility.

For example, we sometimes encounter missing or incomplete routine fire alarm testing records, servicing documentation that isn’t readily available, emergency lighting testing that hasn’t been appropriately recorded or inadequate systems for inspecting and documenting the condition of fire doors.

On paper, these can look like little administrative details.

In reality, good records can be extremely important.

If something goes wrong, or if a local authority asks for evidence of how the property has been managed, a landlord should ideally be able to demonstrate what was checked, when it was checked, whether a defect was identified and what was done about it.

What Would an HMO Compliance Review Include?

Our aim is to make the process practical rather than overwhelming.

A landlord does not necessarily need to hand their HMO over to Prime Property Care for full management.

Instead, we can review the property and its existing management arrangements from an HMO specialist’s perspective.

Depending on the property and scope agreed, this could involve reviewing areas such as the physical HMO set-up, available compliance documentation, HMO licence conditions, fire-safety arrangements, existing inspection and testing records, management procedures and areas where additional specialist advice or action may be required.

The landlord can then receive a clear action plan.

We aren’t fire risk assessors, electricians or fire alarm engineers, and we don’t pretend to be.

Where specialist professional assessment is required, part of good HMO management is recognising that requirement and ensuring the right competent person becomes involved.

Setting Up a New HMO? Get the Foundations Right First

The other area where we believe this service could be particularly valuable is new HMO property set-up.

If you are currently renovating, converting or preparing a property to operate as an HMO, getting professional HMO management input before tenants move in can save a considerable amount of work later.

We can look at the proposed property from a practical management perspective.

Sometimes a small adjustment during the property set-up stage can prevent a much larger problem once the HMO is occupied.

It is considerably easier to get the foundations right before five or six tenants have already moved in.

Increased HMO Enforcement Makes Good Compliance Even More Important

Local authorities have significant enforcement powers in relation to HMO licensing, housing standards and property management, and breaches can carry serious consequences, including financial penalties in appropriate circumstances.

For landlords, this makes proactive compliance increasingly important.

But the purpose of an HMO compliance review shouldn’t simply be avoiding a fine.

If we review a property and find that everything is beautifully organised, fantastic.

If we identify ten small things that need attention, that is also a positive outcome.

The landlord now knows about them.

And if something more significant is identified, it is much better to discover it during a proactive review than following an incident or enforcement visit.

Good HMO Landlords Deserve Good HMO Guidance

This is probably the biggest reason I am excited about developing this service.

There are so many genuinely good landlords.

Sometimes what is missing isn’t care or investment.

It is simply knowledge of one particular licence condition, test, inspection, record or management requirement.

A detailed HMO compliance review could identify those gaps and give the landlord a much clearer path forward.

And that is exactly where I believe an experienced HMO property management company can add value.

Do You Need Help With Your HMO Property?

So yes – summer probably is behind us.

The holidays are ending.

The children are returning to school.

Contractors are coming back.

Our Trello boards are becoming considerably busier.

And those snowballs that have been rolling around all summer are finally starting to look like snowmen.

For us at Prime Property Care, the final quarter of the year will be about completing some exciting HMO projects, continuing to professionally manage the properties already entrusted to us and helping more landlords understand and improve the way their HMOs are set up and managed.