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Landlords could be breaking the law without realising it due to ignorance of House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) rules even two years after they came in, it has been claimed.
Chris Horne, editor of website Property Hawk, said some landlords who have let an HMO for years may be unaware of the regulations.
He also said some property owners who knew about the law could still find it confusing due to it incorporating housing and planning regulations.
Mr Horne said: "You've got these two sets of legislation and one says one thing, the other says slightly different and is almost contradictory. That confuses a lot of landlords."
The beginning of July marked two years since councils were given powers to enforce licensing of HMOs.
From July 6th 2006, landlords failing to licence their HMO properties could be prosecuted by councils and face fines of up to £20,000.
The new power was designed to strengthen the government's reforming drive to further protect tenants and raise both health and safety and management levels in the private rented sector.
