Welcome to the Website
of the
NOTTINGHAM ACTION GROUP ON HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION
 

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THE NAG
WHO ♦ WHAT ♦ WHY ♦ HOW?
 


“We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams, ...
... Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world forever, it seems.”

[Arthur O’Shaughnessy, Poems of Arthur O’Shaughnessy]

We are residents living in neighbourhoods from across a large part of the City of Nottingham (Sherwood, The Arboretum, Hyson Green, Radford, The Park, Lenton, Dunkirk, The Meadows, Wollaton Park, Wollaton, Lenton Abbey), and also in Beeston and West Bridgford.

Although our neighbourhoods are as different from one another as we are, what they have in common are the problems caused by increasing concentrations of so-called 'Houses in Multiple Occupation' (HMOs) - shared houses with absentee landlords and short-term, highly transient tenants.

What we have in common is the feeling that as individual residents we run the risk of having little or no say in what primarily local and national government, our higher education establishments, developers, investors, and others are planning and doing, even though their decisions directly affect us and the future of the neighbourhoods in which we live. As individuals we feel we have little or no voice. However, we believe that coming together as a group gives us a voice.

In February 2004, we did get together and formed the Nottingham Action Group on HMOs – the NAG – not a nice name, but appropriate. What has been happening to our neighbourhoods is not nice for those who live in them, or for their futures, and we are ready to nag and keep on nagging to get things done.

Whilst we cannot change what has happened, perhaps we too can become not just the 'dreamers of dreams' but also the 'movers and shakers', and, by influencing what may be going to happen, so help shape the future of our neighbourhoods.

For the NAG that future needs to be neighbourhoods that are resilient, balanced and sustainable, and where people feel happy to put down roots and contribute to the future of the City of Nottingham as a whole. In other words:

‘... places where people want to live and work and learn, now and in the future. ...'



WHAT IS A HOUSE IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION (HMO)?
 

An HMO is often also known as a 'shared house'. Put as simply as possible, an HMO is a building, or part of a building, occupied as a main residence by more than one household where a 'household' can be one person or several people provided that they are related to one another. So, for example, a home is probably an HMO if 

•three or more unrelated people live there as at least two separate households, and

•the people living there share the same amenities such as a kitchen and/or bathroom.

For more information about HMOs and about legislation relating to HMOs, we suggest you take a look at these websites:

http://www.hmolobby.org.uk

http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/HMO 

Also, Nottingham City Council publish a regularly up-dated Register of Licensed HMOs, which can be downloaded by following the links in:

http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/housing/private-sector-housing/houses-in-multiple-occupation-hmos/


REPORT A ROGUE LANDLORD

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If you want advice or help relating to the condition and management of your privately rented property

Visit:
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/article/29046/Report-a-rogue-landlord-or-problem-with-your-private-rented-property
E-Mail: environmental.health@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Telephone: 0115 915-2020 (Option 4)
Write to: Environmental Health, Community Protection, Nottingham City Council, Loxley House,
Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG


FOR YOUR DIARY
 

NAG MEETINGS & EVENTS

Planning and You: Notes from the NAG Open Meeting

A summary of information relating to planning and HMOs presented at the NAG's meeting on Wednesday 24 May 2017.


NOTTINGHAM: MEETINGS, EXHIBITIONS, CONSULTATIONS & EVENTS

Ground Shakers to Feathered Flyers

1 July 2017 to 29 October 2017, Wollaton Hall: Dinosaurs of China is a one-time only exclusive exhibition of dinosaurs which is coming to Europe for the first time.

'Fabulous Fun on Farndon Green': Wollaton Park Estate

Friday 28 July 2017, 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm, Fardon Green, Wollaton Park Estate. A free community fun day for all residents and communities, young and older! Come on your own or with friends, family and neighbours. Invite some-one who may be on their own, or you may never have spoken to on your street to come along with you.


NEIGHBOURHOOD: PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY ADVICE,
WARD MEETINGS, WARD WALKS & WARD EVENTS

Nottingham East Constituency: Contact information for Chris Leslie MP.
Nottingham South Constituency: Contact and constituency advice surgery information for Lilian Greenwood MP.

Dunkirk & Lenton Ward (D&L): Community Meeting, Tuesday 4 July 2017, 5.30 pm, the Lenton Centre. Ward Walk, Wednesday 5 July 2017, 9.45 am to 11.00 am, Hillside & QMC, meet outside Hillside shops. Ward Walk, Wednesday 2 August 2017, 9.45 am to 11.00 am, Dunkirk & Abbey Bridge, meet outside Dunkirk Community Centre.

Wollaton East & Lenton Abbey Ward (WELA): Ward Walk, Thursday 20 July 2017, 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm, Harby Drive, Orston Spinney, Fairham Drive, Wollaton Park Estate, meet corner of Harby Drive and Middleton Boulevard. 'Fabulous Fun Day', Friday 28 July 2017, 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm, Farndon Green, Wollaton Park Estate: for more information visit this page: 'Fabulous Fun on Farndon Green': Wollaton Park Estate


NEWS DESK
 

NATIONAL NEWS

CML Calls for Landlords to be Spared More Tax & Regulation Changes

On Thursday 22 June 2017 in an on-line article Kevin Peachey, BBC Personal Finance reporter, filed a report in which the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) called for landlords to be spared any new tax and regulation changes after a 'weak start' to 2017.

Queen's Speech Announces Move to Ban Lettings Fees

Brian Milligan, BBC Business Section Personal Finance reporter, writing on line on Wednesday 21 June 2017, reported that a new Tenants' Fees Bill, which will stop tenants having to pay money to agents, was announced in the Queen's Speech, a commitment originally announced by the Government in the 2016 Autumn Statement.

Letting Agents Helped Themselves to More Than £1m of Tenants' Deposits

A BBC investigation (13 February 2017) has revealed that fourteen letting agents were prosecuted in the UK in 2016 for helping themselves to more than £1m from tenants' deposits schemes.

 

NOTTINGHAM NEWS

Do Landlords Have a Duty to Improve Tenant Behaviour?

In the January 2017 East Midlands Edition of the Private Sector Landlord, Giles Inman of EMPO writes that EMPO (East Midlands Property Owners) believes that professional landlords have a moral duty to play a more active role in dealing with anti-social behaviour at and around the curtilage of their properties, and that landlords have the ability to ensure that anti-social behaviour does to become a feature of their tenancies. He then gives guidance on tenancy agreements and other tools that can be used to forward this aim.

Nottingham Left £8m Out Of Pocket by Inadequate Government Student Fund

A Nottingham City Council press release reports that the Council is missing out on millions of pounds in Council Tax due to the Government not compensating enough for the high numbers of students in the city.

Nottingham Crown Court Fines Nottingham Student Lettings £200,000

Nottingham Student Lettings Limited and its sole director, Robert Singh, were fined and given a suspended sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday 19 January after admitting breaching fire safety regulations relating to accommodation in Castle Gate.

 

NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

Council Prosecutes Agent for Contravening Letting Board Controls

A Nottingham agent has been fined £400 and must pay £438 in costs for displaying an unauthorised letting board in Lenton where controls on letting boards are in force.

Anti-Social Behaviour: Evidence for an Alcohol Saturation Zone

The City Council's Anti-Social Behaviour team is looking at whether there is evidence for an Alcohol Saturation Zone in neighbourhoods in areas of Dunkirk & Lenton and Radford & Park wards.

Lenton's Palmer Court Independent Living Scheme Wins National Award

Nottingham City Homes and Nottingham City Council's independent living scheme built on the former Lenton high-rise flats' site, has been awarded the 'Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development' at the annual LABC Building Excellence Awards.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & DISCLAIMER
 

The Nottingham Action Group on HMOs wishes to thank: Nottingham City Council for funding support; everyone whose contributions (photographs, ideas, articles, work) form part of this website; and Magneto Technologies Ltd (http://magnetoweb.com) for the expertise which has enabled us to set up and maintain this website.

Last, but by no means least, we also thank our neighbours in the National HMO Lobby for their continuing help and support.

The views and opinions expressed in contributions to this website do not necessarily reflect those of the Nottingham Action Group on HMOs, its committee, or its wider membership.

Whilst endeavouring to ensure that reports are accurate, from time to time mistakes may occur. If you feel this is the case, please contact the Nottingham Action Group on HMOs. Information on how to do so is available on the 'Contact Us' page of this website.

©2017 The Nottingham Action Group

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