Renting is a fact of life for many people living in Reading, with many living in houses which have been converted into homes of multiple occupation (HMOs).

Currently, landlords that have HMOs with four people or less occupying them do not need a licence.

It is only when a house has five people or more occupying it that a landlord requires a licence. Holders must keep electric and gas safety certificates up to date, and each bedroom must come with a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm.

Reading Borough Council wants to extend licensing to all HMOs across the borough for those with three to four occupants.

Landlords would be required to pay a standard fee of £950 for the HMO licence. This would be reduced to £800 for those accredited members of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) at the time of the application.

However, a higher fee of £1,200 is proposed for late applications.

In an even tighter proposal, the council also wants to introduce licensing for all rented properties, including those let to a single person or family, in the Battle ward of West Reading and the Redlands and Park wards of East Reading.

This is called a selective licence scheme. These will cost £750 at a standard rate, a discount of £650 for accredited members of the NRLA  and £1n000 for late applications.

You can view the consultation on the council’s ‘Go Vocal’ website.

The consultation ends on Thursday, August 29.