How to check for an Oxford HMO licence or application

A few people have asked me how to check a property before signing a rental contact to occupy it as sharers.  You can check quite easily via the City Council website but clicking this link:

http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decB/Licensing_applications_search_occw.htm

You will arrive at the search start page where you need to click the blue "I accept" button which you find by scrolling down a bit through the text.  You can read the guidance notes there if you wish.  Once you've clicked the accept button you get taken to the search page where you can just type in the start of a street address.  If you are searching for an existing licence rather than application it's important to click the radio button to choose licences (circled in red) rather than applications otherwise you won't find what you want.



I've chosen 15 Regent Street just as a random address that I know is an HMO.  Once you've hit the search button you should get a results screen that looks like this (without the red circle):



If you click on "HMO Details" (circled in red) you'll get another screen that shows you other things like how many rooms there are and how many occupants the license allows.  These are important things to check.  It is also very important to check that the license has not expired as this system will show those too.  If it will expire during the period of your proposed tenancy then ask the letting agent or landlord what they are going to do about that.



If you cannot find a license for a property you are considering renting then I would advise you to contact the City Council for advice before signing a contract or paying any sort of deposit or holding fee.  Don't let an agency or a landlord bully you into rushing into anything as if there is no HMO license you will not be protected by the City Council and could be signing a lease for a dangerous or otherwise defective property.  The landlord and letting agent will also be acting illegally if they let a property that does not have a license.  I should say that if you don't find a property on this search it may be because the application or license is still in processing. It doesn't automatically mean the landlord or letting agent is doing anything wrong but it does mean you should check.

Phone: 01865 249811
Email: hmos@oxford.gov.uk
109 St Aldate's Chambers,
St Aldate's,
Oxford,
OX1 1DS

I hope people find this useful - it's applicable to all those looking to share houses, not just students.  Remember though that being included on the public access HMO register no more makes a landlord or letting agent good than not being included on it makes a landlord or letting agent bad.

 

Lib Dem Group fully supports Christmas Market in Broad Street

Councillors received details this week of an application to hold Oxford's Christmas Market in Broad Street from 13-22 December 2013.  It has been held at Castle site in Oxford's West end for a few years but has always struggled with the lower footfall there.  Last year there was an application to hold it in Broad Street but the council rejected it.  It was extremely disappointed about that as the market is great fun and really adds to Oxford at Christmas time.   One correspondent said

"To hear that the Council had turned-down your application to relocate to Broad Street just seems absolute madness. Not only was your event something rare, that many other Cities would be proud to host, but one that was particularly festive that brought joy and cheer and attracted people to visit Oxford itself. I simply cannot comprehend the Council's decision, particularly in this time of economic hardship when such an event could only boost visitor numbers and trade to the City of Oxford."

And I do rather agree! As far as I could tell there were several objections, some of which I'll try to address:

1.  Colleges on Broad Street don't like the disturbance and traffic disruption.  I reply that the Market is out of Term Time so although prospective students are being interviewed in the proposed weeks of the market they hardly are going to bring removal vans and I suspect the market will not make any more noise than the normal traffic on Broad Street during the day.

2.  Local traders will lose business to the Christmas Market.  This is I think is just nonsense.  Looking at the Broad Street traders, they are things like bookshops, a newsagent, Boswells, Bravissimo and the tourist information centre - the Christmas Market would hardly compete with them and I think the increased footfall it would bring would actually boost their businesses.

3.  The Covered Market would suffer.  Again I think more people in the area will be a good thing for the Covered Market traders, not a detriment.

I think the area would be more vibrant in December with a Christmas Market and more profitable for everyone.

I am pleased to say that my colleagues on the LibDem Group on the City Council have agreed with this position this week so, Christmas Market, I am delighted to tell you that you have the full support of the Oxford City Council LibDem Group.  You heard it here first!

You can read more about the Oxford Christmas Market at http://www.oxfordchristmasmarket.co.uk/ and don't worry about the message on the front page - it refers to 2012, not this year!  If you want to make comments on the application you can contact info@oxfordchristmasmarket.co.uk and I ask you please to copy in events@oxford.gov.uk

One message I have sent is that if the Colleges are concerned about noise then one thing they could do it arrange electrical power supplied between then for the market.  That would avoid the need for a smelly and polluting generator and would presumably provide some income for the colleges during the period.

I would be great to see lots of messages of support so please do get emailing and tweet and facebook this blog post!