Council insists changes essential

Fife Council has defended its decision, saying the charging regime needed to be amended because of an increasing number of HMOs and changing rules.

Vania Kennedy, housing service manager, said: “Fife Council needed to revise fees because of an increasing number of HMOs and changing legislation over time.

“Our previous HMO charges pre-dated 2006, and needed to be updated. This meant HMO fee income wasn’t covering the HMO licensing scheme, with council taxpayers covering service costs.

“The new charging structure and fee levels cover the full cost of the HMO licensing service, including administration, visits for inspection and verification, democracy and compliance costs.

“The council moved from a flat-based fee structure to one that takes account of the number of occupants in an HMO, and the resources spent on each application through a sliding scale of charges.

“Fife Council’s fees are in line with those charged by other councils with a high number of HMOs.”

“The council now charges an HMO fee for each flat within David Russell Halls – this is because of property size, number of HMO occupants and the work required to process the HMO licence.

“While each apartment may have a similar footprint, property condition and health and safety issues can differ across apartments.”

She continued: “The costs of HMO licensing represent a small percentage of the income that HMO owners will receive through rents and there should be no need to pass on the increase in HMO fees to occupants through rent increases.”