The HMO Awards All-Star Panel of Judges

I am hugely proud of the calibre of judges we've attracted for the first-ever The HMO Awards, on the 30th of September 2022. It speaks to the goal of what the awards are trying to do - to further professionalise the HMO industry, change the reputation, and improve the opportunities for the millions of renters nationwide.

Early-bird tickets are available now, and entries for most awards have opened.

Ben Beadle

Ben was appointed chief executive when the RLA merged with the NRA, forming the NRLA, and it's easy to understand why. With over a decade as a Justice of the Peace, Ben can take a clear and impartial view based on facts - a necessity when faced with representing nearly 100,000 members through difficult social and economic times. In his two decades in property, he's been faced with making the right decision plenty of times, a skill honed from his 9 years as a referee in FA cup matches.

Gary Barker

Gary Barker understands PropTech more than anyone in the industry, believing tech really needs to add value, not just be "new and shiny". In his past roles Head of IT Development for Countrywide, and Group CTO at Connells, he's seen it all, and during his 15-year stint as the CEO of Reapit, the country's largest agency PMS, he lived it. After leaving Reapit he joined COHO's board, and set up nurtur.group tech accelerator, putting himself at the heart of the biggest PropTech innovations.

Helen Chorley

You may recognise her as the property angel investor on Sky, or the co-founder of Property Sisters, or from the many speaking slots she's been requested for. Helen knows her numbers. And that's no surprise. As a former investment banker with over 20 years working in finance, she knows how to utilise financial products when the numbers stack up, building up an investment portfolio with a combined GDV of over ￡70 million.

Adam Lawrence

Adam Lawrence is known and respected by all in the industry. Co-founder of Partners in Property and The Boardroom Club, Adam has a huge wealth of experience in property investment and management. Having bought 500 properties in the past decade, as well as owning multiple letting agencies and asset management companies, there is little about HMOs that Adam doesn't know.

John Paul

John Paul is probably the most acclaimed name among letting agents, and for good reason. As CEO of Castledene Group, managing 2,200 homes across 12 branches, John Paul has won Sunday Times "Letting Agent of the Year" not only once but 4 times in a row. His knowledge and credibility led to him being given a seat on the ARLA Propertymark board.

Julie Ford

A highly sought after speaker, Julie understands the HMO industry front-to-back. After overseeing 3,000 properties nationwide, Julie set up her own property management company, before becoming a Housing & Homeless Law Specialist at the Citizens Advice Bureau. Recognising education as a key problem, Julie founded the Hemel Landlord Property Networking group and Gothard Rowe Landlord Services, both going strong over a decade later.

Ranjan Bhattacharya

As host of one of the UK's largest property meets, and with over 50k subscribers on his YouTube channel, many tune in to hear Ranjan's thoughts on the latest happenings, supported by his 30+ years of experience. Ranjan has a very varied but thorough knowledge of property, and whether he is covering an event, or commentating on the latest news, he knows how to personally connect with his audience to share it.

Stephanie Taylor

Having been featured on BBC, Telegraph, and Business Insider, Stephanie has had a journey like few others. From struggling to find a home as a teenage single mom on benefits, to building a significant property portfolio and management agency, Stephanie is a passionate advocate that ethical property investment is open to everyone. As the best-selling author of Rent 2 Rent Success, and its namesake podcast (globally in the top 1.5% downloads) she shares her advice and knows exactly what is needed by the thousands of both grass-roots and experienced property investors she speaks to.

Paul Shamplina

Paul is a man who needs no introduction. As a founder of Landlord Action, Chief Commercial Officer of Hamilton Fraser, and advisor to the PRS, it is surprising Paul has time to judge HMO awards. But his time hosting Channel 5's "Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords" has shown him the importance of helping further professionalism in property investment.

Mahsa Khaneghah

As a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and member of the Association of Environmentally Conscious Building, Mahsa is extremely passionate about sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban development. With her first-class MSc in Global Urban Development and Planning, and diverse international career and consultancy experience, Mahsa is now Head of Planning & Sustainability at Platinum Property Partners.

Rick Gannon

Rick is almost synonymous with HMO. He has invested in property since 1997, during which time he has authored 3 best-selling books, founded an HMO community with 23k people, founded Go Tenant property software, built a prominent training business, and hosts the daily Property News - a lot to take on for somebody managing a ￡7.5m portfolio with 150 tenants. Rick prides himself on helping others without any of the fluff and nonsense.

Emma Stubbings

After many years in the corporate world Emma realised she could utilise her experience to build a leading property business. Now with over 20 years' experience in property, Ikon Property, Emma's design-led development company, is well-respected across the industry. Specialising in taking run down, unloved buildings & turning them into homes that people will be excited to live in, Ikon’s primary focus is on shared living for students & professionals. Emma is passionate about transforming shared living and puts innovation & customer experience at the forefront of everything.

Rod Turner

Having invested in and developed property for the past 15 years, Rod has honed his skills so that he can instantly spot what does and doesn't add up. Not a man who only understands one strategy, his investment firm holds a varied mixture of HMOs, purpose single lets, purpose-built rental stock that the businesses development company has built, and a broad range of commercial diversified through location, use class and tenant type. Rod has a detailed and thorough approach to investment and helps SME property businesses to plan strategically for their future.

Sarah Hodge

As co-founder of Maygreen Investments, Sarah is renowned for breaking the mould of traditional HMOs, creating design-led homes of the highest calibre that encourage human connection and facilitate community. Sarah is followed by many in the industry as she shares how to follow a sustainable HMO business model, supported by her decade working in investment banking, whilst setting new standards in tenant experience.

Andy Graham

Over the past few years, Andy Graham has put himself at the centre of the HMO community with his incredibly popular "The HMO Podcast", and his quickly growing Facebook group, "The HMO Community". Leaning on his broad experience investing in and managing HMOs, he shares this knowledge through "The HMO Roadmap", supporting others to follow in his footsteps.

Leah Ziliak

Over the past few years, Leah has built up a name as the world's leading Community Experience Consultant for coliving spaces. With her strong passion for community and 10+ years of experience in the hospitality and entertainment industry, Leah now travels the world as a digital nomad working with coliving brands to help build community within shared living spaces and create positive customer experiences.

Julian Maurice

Whilst many think design is purely about a pretty-looking, Instagrammable house, Julian realises that good design is about problem-solving. As an advocate of Dieter Ram's 10 Principles of Good Design, Julian believes design should be simple but thorough, make the product useful, be long lasting, and be innovative. He also knows how to make things look beautiful. As an HMO investor himself, Julian has put these principles to action alongside providing training and consultancy to anyone from first-time landlords to letting agents.

Des Taylor

When things go wrong, there's one name people know to call, Des Taylor. Whilst building up a large HMO portfolio, Des recognised that to not be caught out you need to thoroughly understand legislation - a particularly hot topic with rent repayment orders at a record high. Des now spends his time helping landlords and agents who have fallen foul of regulation, which isn't in short supply with property courses often stopping short of regulatory requirements.