Glasgow profiteering from HMOs say landlords

Posted: 26 Jan 2007 10:44:10 GMT

Scottish landlords have claimed that Glasgow city council is unfairly profiteering by pricing houses of multiple occupation (HMO) licences six times higher than elsewhere

Scottish landlords have claimed that Glasgow city council is unfairly profiteering by pricing houses of multiple occupation (HMO) licences six times higher than elsewhere.

The government has left charging for the system to be set by individual authorities, leading to massive differences across the UK.

Glasgow officials admitted yesterday that the HMO office has already turned a £300,000 profit, with the cost of licensing £591,000 and income from fees £918,000.

Each three-year licence costs £1,887 for a property housing between three and ten people, compared to £1,405 in Edinburgh and just £237 in Aberdeen.

"We have never been able to get them to justify the cost of a licence," director of the Scottish Association of Landlords John Blackwood told the Herald.

"If a local authority is profiting through licensing, it is inexcusable. We always thought that all levels of fees were proportionate to the cost of implementing the system."

The city council said that it is currently preparing a report into the costs of licensing after learning of the difference between costs and revenues.

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