More than 300 landlords have applied for a new licence brought in this summer by Tory controlled Kensington and Chelsea council in London.
It introduced the new additional licensing scheme on June 1 and claims it will “drive up housing standards and enforce against criminal landlords operating HMOs … [and] offers a new layer of protection for tenants, identifying licensed and responsible landlords.”
Council research shows there are approximately 2,400 privately rented properties that have what it calls “the most serious hazards” whilst many are poorly managed and are associated with anti-social behaviour.
Since the scheme came, 325 new licence applications have been received.
Under previous mandatory licensing rules, the council was only able only license around 185 properties.
A council spokesperson says: “Everyone deserves a safe home and we welcome landlords providing good places to live. This new licensing scheme is already identifying responsible landlords. This is going to make it easier for our officers to identify the properties where landlords persistently provide poorly managed housing to their tenants and take enforcement action.
“I’m grateful to those who have been proactive in getting the new licence so quickly. This is about making housing safer and fairer. Bad landlords should take this as their notice that we won’t tolerate poor quality housing in our borough.”
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These councils have the power now to do this. In a few months time when landlords are no longer prepared to continue letting because of the RENTERS REFORM LEGISLATION, they are going to see that their additional licensing schemes are quite incongruous. The chickens will come home to roost for all those who have used landlords as cash cows.
325 doesn't sound very many does it? Until tenants report LLs with properties in poor conditions the Councils will never find them all. But tenants don't report LLs for fear of eviction & homelessness.
Most properties are in good condition when let, so theTenants are getting paid to damage the property.
Why would they take a property in bad condition.
Going to be much worse when Tenants are permanently installed and no opportunity to maintain or up grade, have any of those calling all the shots ever done any of this stuff ? with every room full full full I just replaced a shower cubicle complete with tiling, so I know only too well and if you are getting some one in to do it forget that or plumber + other trades to dance around them while working from home or worse still not working and maybe kids, give me a break.
It’s bad for Tenants to see loan free landlords pulling out, those are usually very long term landlords that have done the years to achieve this and the ones with more reasonable rents, as heavy leveraged landlords have to charge top dollar.
Agree 100%
The longer they are there the more they accumulate and never discard anything until moving then everything they don’t want is chucked in front garden for Landlords to get rid of. Imagine they never move.
I can’t comprehend this when I was renting I had 11 addresses in 9 years admittedly I followed the work. I never imposed myself on any landlords if I felt I wasn’t wanted I would leave.
More difficult back then I remember the boards no Irish no blacks, different now we own half the place, anyway I wasn’t bothered I wouldn’t go where I am not wanted nice to know in advance.
Grenfell Tower is in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea! I'm sure licensing would have helped protect the tenants there that rented privately....
Geraldine I don’t understand what you are saying. Grenfell wasn’t privately owned but owned and run by the Council.
Are you suggesting that Council Flats should be licensed, who would oversee it, who would they pay the several hundreds of pounds per Applicable fees to ?. Do you think the Council with this track record is a fit and proper body to run Private landlord Licensing Schemes.
Yet they have the power to invent rules to make Landlords Criminals that were considered to be law abiding for years for doing the very same thing.
Exactly Michael, the council's responsibility, why haven't the council been prosecuted here?
The council managed the Grenfell block but some flats were privately owned through Right to Buy. My point is that all councils and housing associations appear to have a number of their properties that are badly maintained.
I find it ironic that councils are rushing to licence landlords, claiming it's to protect tenants, when their own properties are so dire. Therefore, if a privately owned flat in Grenfell were licensed, what good would it have done?
No, not suggesting something as daft as councils licensing themselves, how could that work?? I'm simply saying they can't manage and maintain their own housing stock.
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