All HMO landlords in Worcester will soon have to buy a licence if councillors back a new additional licensing scheme.

The city has operated an additional scheme since September 2015 but amended it in 2020 to cover only the wards of Arboretum, Bedwardine, Cathedral and St Clements and St Johns.

It now wants to extend this across the whole of Worcester into all remaining wards. There are currently 284 HMO properties in Worcester City with additional licences.

When the communities committee meets next week, councillors will be asked to approve the change which will mean that HMO properties with fewer than five occupants will need to be licensed, as will converted buildings. Fees have been set at between �953 and �1,100.

Scheme backed

The move follows a recent consultation asking local residents, landlords and agents for their views. The council reports that of those who responded to the consultation, 80% backed the new scheme.

Communities committee chair, councillor Jabba Riaz, says: 'The wellbeing of our residents is of the utmost importance to us. Since the implementation of the city's existing HMO scheme we have seen an improvement in the condition of homes in multiple occupation and we believe that all wards in the city will benefit from our additional licensing scheme.'�

In 2020, it reported that 56% of landlords wanted to see the continuation of additional licensing, compared with the 2015 consultation when the majority of landlords opposed the scheme's introduction.