x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.

TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Brent receives over 5,000 property licence applications

Brent Council has received more than 5,000 online applications from landlords seeking to have their Brent rental properties licensed since it introduced its new landlord licensing schemes in November last year.

With around 4,000 of these applications now approved, the council says it is aiming is to drive up standards in the private rental sector and better protect tenants from poor rental accommodation.

The licensing schemes were introduced in November 2014 and came into force on 1 January 2015. It is now a legal requirement for all HMOs in Brent to be licensed.

Advertisement

Landlords caught without a licence will have to pay an extra £300 “finders' fee” and face being fined up to £20,000.

Prosecutions have already taken place for failure to licence. Douglas Gerard-Reynolds  has been fined twice in respect of his unlicensed properties on Lechmere Road and Anson Road and ordered to pay over £10,000 in total.

Councillor Margaret McLennan, lead member for housing and development at Brent Council said: "It is fantastic to reach this milestone of 5,000 applications but there are still many more rental properties in Brent that need a licence.

"We want to work with the good landlords to drive out the minority of bad ones and so I thank all of those landlords who have already shown their co-operation and submitted their applications to us.

"If you live next to a House in Multiple Occupation or are a tenant in one which you think is unlicensed, please do get in contact with the council's Private Housing Licensing Team and help us increase the number of licensed properties in Brent."

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

  • icon

    This is a ridiculous position as per Croydon who require ALL rental properties to be licensed from October 2015!

    Croydon have been Completely incompetent in replying to my brief communication even when I contacted the Director at Croydin directly to expedite a reply on several occasions! How can they then manage thousands of new licensed properties if the Director can not even reply?

    This is just a money raising exercise. If they wished to root out incompetent or ruthless landlords and it was a genuine desire, they only need all landlords to REGISTER ONCE, with a list of all properties they rent. -- Just because they have a big stick they seem free to wave it to raise extra revenue, but in my brief experience with Croydon they are completely incompetent to deal with even the simple matters raised.

    Incidentally, yes I am a landlord who takes his responsibilities seriously but am incensed with the incompetence seen. Registration OK but one registration per Landlord listing all their properties. then by all means you can just as easily remove doggy landlords.

  • icon

    One registration per landlord?? I do not think that would be even considered by a large number of serious property managers. I tend to agree with the comment above that this is actually a money raising exercise.

    Leila Downey
    Assistant Marketing Manager

icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up