The owner of the property/licence holder is responsible for compliance of the HMO.
However, the Housing Act 2004 places responsibility also on the managing agent as a person having control or a person managing. The legal definition of a ‘person having control’ and ‘person managing’ are very technical. In layman’s terms, if you collect the rent on behalf of the landlord, you will be the person managing the property.
It is therefore essential to have a good relationship with any agent managing the property, as they will want to ensure that property is compliant with all legislation, as they can be held jointly liable under the law for non-compliance.
The local authority, in this case, Plymouth City Council, is responsible for enforcing compliance.
