Agenda and minutes

No apologies for inability to attend were received.

            The minutes of the meeting of 10th December 2025, were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 8th January.

No declarations of interest were recorded.

The HMO Manager presented the following report to the Committee:

“1.1     Members at their November 2025 meeting requested that officers provide statistics on the public level of engagement with the HMO section on the Council’s website on a quarterly basis

1.2       To highlight a publicity campaign commencing on the 26 January 2026 to coincide with the commencement of the letting season for students looking new accommodation for the 2026/27 academic year.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1.      The Committee is requested to note the engagement with the HMO section viathe website during quarter 3 of the financial year 2025/26.

2.2       The Committee is requested to note an advertising campaign scheduled to coincide with the commencement of the student letting season for the academic year 2026/27.

Key Issues

3.1       From 15 September (launch of Know your rights booklet) – 31 December 2025 the HMO section of the Council’s website received the following level of engagement.

3.2       A social media adverting campaign with a primary target audience of students looking for new accommodation for the September term and a secondary audience of landlords, education establishments and parents will commence on the 26 January 2026 for a 2-week period.

3.3       The strap line “Students: check before you rent - If the house is an HMO, make sure it’s licensed.” will front the campaign.

3.4       The campaign will also focus on the obligations the HMO licence holder has to maintain the property during the term of the tenancy, building on recent articles in ‘City Matters’.

3.5       Officers will also use boosted social media adverts, website pop-ups / banners, a press release and an article on Interlink.

3.6       The messaging will also be relayed by Officers to Landlords Association for Northern Ireland (LANI), student bodies, higher education institutions and Northern Ireland Council for inclusion on their website / social media channels.

            Financial and Resource Implications

3.7       The funding of the advertising campaign is meet from HMO licence fee income and does not place a financial burden on the rate payer.

            Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

3.8       There are no issues associated with this report.”

            The Committee noted the recommendations.

            The information contained in the reports associated with the following item is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the following item as, due to the nature of the item, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            The Members were also reminded that the content of ‘restricted’ reports and any discussion which took place during closed session must be treated as ‘confidential information’ and that no such information should be disclosed to the public as per Paragraph 4.15 of the Code of Conduct.  

            The HMO Manager outlined a review of Licence Scheme Charges.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed:

                       i.          to the increase of the HMO Licence Application Fee to £62 per person, per annum, effective from 1 April 2026, this being the amount necessary to cover only the cost of processing the application.

                     ii.          to the increase of cost of varying an HMO as follows –

                    iii.          that a paper is also presented to SOLACE in February 2026 to confirm SOLACE agreement and confirmation that all SOLACE members will also take papers to their respective Council Committee in February / March 2026; and

                    iv.          to write to the Department for Communities Minister regarding the pending funding gap that will be created by the conflict between the Houses in Multiple Occupation (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 and the Provision of Services Regulations 2009.

The Committee noted a list of applications for licences which had, since its last meeting, been approved under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.

The Committee noted the applications that had been issued under the Scheme of Delegation during December 2025.

            The Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Managerpresented the details of the application to the Committee.

He outlined that the property had had the benefit of an HMO licence, issued by the Council, with a start date of 20th January, 2021, and an expiry date of 20th January, 2026, in the name of Mr. Sam Shepherd.

The Committee was advised that ownership of the property transferred to “Remark Group Ltd.” with an assignment date of 28th June, 2023. Mr. S. Shephard was a director of the Remark Group Ltd.  In accordance with Section 28 “Change of ownership: effect on licence” of the 2016 HMO Act, the licence in the name of Mr. S. Shephard ceased to have effect on the date of transfer.

            An application for a new HMO licence was received from Remark Group Ltd on 30th September, 2025.  The property was inspected on 17th October, 2025, at which time it was vacant.

TheHMO Manager outlined that, pursuant to the 2016 Act, the Council could only grant a licence if it was satisfied that:

a)     the occupation of the living accommodation as an HMO would not constitute a breach of planning control;

b)     the owner, and any managing agent of it, were fit and proper persons;

c)     the proposed management arrangements were satisfactory;

d)     the granting of the licence would not result in overprovision of HMOs in the locality;

e)     the living accommodation was fit for human habitation and—

                                                   i.          was suitable for occupation as an HMO by the number of persons to be specified in the licence, or

                                                 ii.          could be made so suitable by including conditions in the licence.

            The Committee was advised that, as it was a new application, the Council’s Planning Service was consulted. It had confirmed that a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use of Development “CLEUD” was granted on 24th June, 2021.

It was reported that the NIHMO Unit had consulted with the Environmental Protection Unit in relation to daytime noise; the Public Health and Housing Unit in relation to rubbish accumulation/filthy premises; and the Enforcement Unit in relation to litter and waste and all had confirmed that there had been no relevant enforcement action required in respect of any of the issues in the HMO in the last 5 years.   Officers were not aware of any other issues relevant to the fitness of the applicant or manager.

For the purposes of Section 12(2) of the 2016 Act, the Council had determined the locality of the accommodation within Housing Management Areas (HMA) “HMA 2/08 Edinburgh St” as defined in Council’s Local Development Plan Strategy “2023 Strategy” which had been formally adopted on 2nd May, 2023.  It was reported that Legal Services had advised that there was a clear requirement in section 8 of the 2016 Act upon the Council to be satisfied that the granting of a licence would not result in overprovision.

The officers had had regard to:

a)     the number and capacity of licensed HMOs in the locality; and

b)     the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6c