Landlord Licence Scheme Discarded
In what lead housing councillor Andy Batsford describes as “a massive dark and backwards step in the protection of our local families”, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, has refused to renew the landlord licensing scheme operated by Hastings Borough Council (HBC). The original scheme, under which HBC were charging landlords £665 per self-contained property for a licence certifying that they were fit and proper persons to manage a letting and that the property conformed with legal standards of maintenance and safety, ran from October 2015 to October 2020. Renewal required positive approval from the Secretary of State under the Housing Act 2004, and was applied for early last year. But the council admitted last week that Mr Jenrick issued a refusal in the middle of May this year, stating that he did not consider that the evidence put forward by HBC justified its continuation.
CREDIT: Dave Young
At least six HBC officers who helped run the licensing scheme are said by Cllr Batsford to have lost, or be losing, their jobs.
Council leader Cllr Kim Forward said: “We are bitterly disappointed…[The scheme] has brought about an improvement in the conditions to rented properties and the fact that this additional protection is no longer available means it is the tenants that will suffer as a result.”
Cllr Batsford echoes this sentiment and blames Conservative opponents, including Hastings & Rye MP Sally-Ann Hart: “During the time the scheme has been running, thousands of local families have been protected and slept soundly in their beds at night knowing that their home was safe, and that their landlord was a fit and proper person because of the selective licensing scheme and the officers who inspected them. Thanks to opposition councillors lobbying our MP, she has seen fit to not support over 7,000 renting households in our town. I consider this to be a disgraceful decision by the government.”
Cllr Andy Patmore, Tory leader in the council, is unmoved, however, describing the landlord scheme as “out of date”. He argues that councils have adequate tools to regulate private sector lettings in the form of national protective legislation. “New energy performance regulations (EPC) require properties to be warm and dry and meet strict health and safety requirements in terms of prevention of damp in the ambient environment. Electrical installation legislation now requires landlords to provide completely safe wiring in accommodation. Right to Rent legislation means that tenants are treated fairly and equitably. Gas-Safe regulations require gas installations to be safe and efficient. Fire safety regulations require regular checks to fire alarms and carbon monoxide detection systems.”
Cllr Patmore also claims credit for the Conservative government’s banning of evictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, and points to a current White Paper that proposes, among other property legislation, the end of Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’.
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I enjoyed reading this article. I suggested to Hull County Council that the Council could earn money from running a licensing scheme in une 1999 and followed it up in 21.07.99 and again 09.10.2000. I showed that a reasonable fee could be charged and the Council could make a profit out of this. I also pointed out that dog kennels had been licensed for decades then. The fee mentioned in this article of over £600 seems far too high. Couldn’t it be a lot lower or set as a percentage of the rent?
We would like to hear from Hugh Sullivan – I’ve left our email address – where is yours on this site? I can’t find it.
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Its a great day for Hastings and private Sector Housing. The Tenants can breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to reasonable Rents. The greedy useless Council didn’t get their claws on the Tenants money this time, we know from other areas it an extortion racket where by Council has no input just collect easy money at a time prop are struggling to make ends meet, ( usually I am no fan of Robert Janrick).