Bristol’s Labour-controlled council says it wants to spend some £17m of local council tax payers’ money on two new licensing schemes - although licensing is already heavy across the city.
The first new idea is a citywide additional licensing scheme where most Houses in Multiple Occupation not already subject to mandatory licensing will need a licence.
The second is a selective licensing scheme in three wards - in these areas, most other types of privately rented accommodation in these areas will need a licence.
Small print on a council website says: “The Housing Act 2004 allows councils to set a fee for property licences and says that the council may consider all costs incurred by the authority in carrying out the licensing function. The council cannot make a profit from licence fees. The council’s predicted operating cost for the additional licensing scheme is £12,516,316. The council’s predicted operating cost for the selective licensing scheme is £3,532,288.”
A spokesperson for the authority says: “We want to make sure that people renting properties across the city can feel confident that their home will be safe and secure, with clear standards for what this looks like and routes to raise concerns where property conditions are falling short.
“Those in private rented accommodation have lived for too long without adequate protections and with very limited options to guarantee decent living standards.
“Licensing places conditions on the landlord or agent to ensure that certain property standards are met and that good management practice is delivered.
“While the majority of landlords offer good quality homes and have positive relationships with their tenants, these additional measures would allow us to take action where this is not the case.
“Previous licensing schemes in Bristol have proved to be successful, helping us to improve standards of accommodation and tackle bad management practices.”
A public consultation is now underway and landlords - and others - have until November 7 to respond.
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Surely the seventeen million pounds would be better spent on dealing with genuine complaints against bad Landlords, rather than tarring in the words of the Councils own spokesman the majority of all good Landlords.
The £17m will be paid by the good landlords so they can prosecute a few and pay themselves nice salaries. The tenants as usual will eventually pay . They should ask tenants if they want this scheme and tell them that they will pay for it as landlords pass the cost onto them.
Councils need to first to look into their back garden. Many council's housing stock is unsafe, as we have sewn the publicity by Camden council, also Grenfell tower, Ealing council, Nottinghanshire and many others. Most landlords, like over 90% emsure their properties are safe and habitable conditions.
Bristol Council is out of control and not accountable to anyone. Suppose if they were a responsible Council or cared anything about the Homeless why would they introduce schemes to make the Homeless situation worse.
Might I make a suggest use the £17’000000.00 to buy 70 Flats in Bristol, no exaggeration to house 200 people instantly that would help with the homeless Crisis, instead of abusing their position to wrongfully drive out Private landlords who already house so many with their own finances reducing the need for local Authorities to find the money but at same time LA’s are screwing landlords for millions do they not know when they have it so good.
Licensing Consultation is a farce they specifically don’t ask Landlords and Tenants but use the general Public’s vote, who have nothing to do with it and have no input to get the answers want.
We had 3 Consultations in Ealing for the Mandatory licensing Scheme in 2006.
A man came from York held 3 Meetings one in Southall another in Ealing Town Hall and third one in The Old Acton Town Hall, it was called the Mayhew Report, he told us what was coming in, there you go that’s your Consultation and he got paid £100k for that
These Bristol council bods are the usual ‘lefty loonies’ peddling the usual anti PRS exaggerations and falsehoods. The net result being that they simply encourage LLs to leave and tenants to pay far more for a fast diminishing housing resource.
Less than clever policy and another criminal waste of hard pressed landlords money
Utterly disgraceful that a council can even consider!
What they need to do is educate their staff on current legislation and then use that to prosecute the bad landlords. looking at recent prosecutions in areas where there is licensing it seems to me that most prosecutions should have been undertaken without the need for licensing if the authority used existing legislation and that most fines are levied simply for not having a licence!
Agree, licencing should not make any difference to the power councils have to deal with poor housing.
Please login to comment