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resolvedCan anyone shed some light for me?
My landlord is insistent that it is against HMO regulations to keep bikes inside the flat and that he could lose his HMO licence and go to jail if an inspector found the bikes inside.
I'm not convinced as this was never the case in Swansea.
The bike is stored well out of the way behind the sofa, away from any possible fire escape route and out of everyone's way.
Is my landlord just trying to frighten me or is this a genuine law/regulation?
It's against fire regs to keep bikes in a stairwell (if anyone has a nuisance bike just call LBFR on a non-emergency number and they'll oblige)... the only problem about keeping bikes inside I can see would be damage to his carpets/walls from mud/scrapes.
Even if there's a caveat in HMO (and I'm doubtful) about communal areas then your bedroom is yours.
Zen - HMOs are covered by the provisions of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, Section 71 of which specifically states that HMO licensing conditions cannot cover fire safety.
Every HMO should have had a fire safety risk assessment carried out - this may have identified the storage of bikes as a fire risk. However, I am not aware of any blanket ban on storing bikes in a flat under fire safety law. You can find out more on fire safety law at:
http://www.firelawscotland.org/index.html?p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&pContentID=218&
I would say your landlord is talking rubbish and just doesn't like bikes in the flat - he certainly wouldn't be sent to jail. In the event that the property was inspected, the Fire Brigade inspector would simply ask that the bikes be moved elsewhere if they really were a problem.
the words "bike" and "bicycle" appear in neither the Housing Act 2004 or The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Order 2000 or the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation Statutory Guidance for Scottish Local Authorities.
I suspect your landlord is b*llsh*tting you and hasn't read them. It would be interesting to confront your landlord with reference to these 3 pieces of legislation/ guidelines.
The latter is the guidance issued to local authorities from the Scottish Government. It is here.
What Morningsider said, plus . . .
If there is a clause in your lease banning bikes in the flat, it's been put in by the landlord.
Contact the HMO section of the Licensing Dept on 0131 529 4208 or hmo.licensing@edinburgh.gov.uk and ask them what the position is. In your situation, I think the off-the-record view will be that they won't give a monkey's. They should also have a copy of the lease your landlord uses, and any updates to it.
New HMO regulations are in place, see item 6 - some are for existing HMO's, some only apply to new applications. Bikes/bicycles aren't mentioned.
Any other HMO problems with your landlord, feel free to get in touch.
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