HMO agents face £50,000 fines or prison if tenants fly-tip

Landlords and agents who manage HMOs can face civil penalties of up to £50,000 and prison sentences of up to five years for fly-tipping and waste disposal rule breaches, warns waste disposal expert Graham Matthews (pictured) of BusinessWaste.co.uk.

The warning comes just as thousands of students move into HMO accommodation this month, with councils bracing for a spike in waste-related complaints.

Landlords have a responsibility to make sure there are enough bins for the number of tenants and clearly designated disposal areas for rubbish disposal.”

Responsibility for waste management in HMO properties is shared between landlords and tenants. However, those who manage them have a legal duty to provide correct equipment to maintain compliance, whereas tenants handle day-to-day waste disposal.

Matthews says: “Landlords have a responsibility to make sure there are enough bins for the number of tenants and clearly designated disposal areas for rubbish disposal,” and they must inform tenants about collection times and ensure proper recycling separation.

Wasted effort

He adds, though, that what many landlords and agents don’t realise is that any rubbish left behind after tenants have left is classed as ‘commercial waste’ and must be disposed of correctly by licensed waste carriers rather than through household waste recycling centres.

Any breaches of the rules are likely to be punished severely by cash-strapped councils. Durham County Council, for example, has warned that landlords attempting to take commercial waste to household waste recycling centres “risk being fined up to £50,000 or even imprisonment.”

And from March 2026, there will also be a new requirement for every household to have a separate weekly collection of food waste.

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Author: Gemma