An article in The Guardian has quoted Hackney MP, Meg Hillier, as being worried that many HMO tenants may not receive the fuel bill rebate promised by Chancellor Rishi Sunak because their council tax is bundled up within the rent payment that they make to their landlord. The fear is that unscrupulous landlords may not pass that fuel rebate payment on to their tenants. But could that potential problem be nipped in the bud via HMO licensing schemes?

As the problem is only potential at this stage, it could be resolved by Local Authority council tax teams working with their colleagues in the HMO licensing teams. HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) are regulated via mandatory licensing where all such private rented accommodation must be licensed with the Local Authority. Every Local Authority with HMO properties must have a mandatory licensing scheme in place and it is illegal for a landlord to operate an HMO without a licence. So, if a council tax team works with their licensing team colleagues in communicating with their licensed HMO landlords there should be less likelihood of this problem coming to pass - landlords who have paid a substantial licence fee should, after all, be reluctant to risk losing their HMO licence over keeping a tenant's council tax fuel rebate.