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From July 1 most privately rented properties in Lewisham, south London, will need a property licence.
With one in four households in Lewisham renting privately the council claims the new scheme will help it “ensure landlords are providing safe and decent quality homes and fair treatment for renters.”
The new scheme will cover an additional 20,000 properties in the borough, which are not included in existing licensing schemes for HMOs.
The new scheme was approved by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in November 2023.
To obtain a licence, properties will need to certify that they meet minimum health and safety standards. Landlords who fail to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, such as carrying out repairs in a timely fashion, will be subject to enforcement action.
The council claims it will work closely with landlords and tenants in the borough to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and rights under the scheme.
Selective licensing is only introduced in areas where the council can evidence that it is necessary.
Councillor Will Cooper, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, says: “Selective licensing will ensure Lewisham’s privately rented housing is of a higher standard and comes with better security for renters, who make up a quarter of residents in our borough.
“Everyone deserves a safe and decent place to call home, and this scheme will support the Council to take meaningful action against landlords who fail to fulfil their responsibilities.
“20,000 additional properties in Lewisham will now be subject to improved standards and reduced antisocial behaviour, making Lewisham a fairer and more enjoyable place to live.”
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They are all like ravenous wolves 🐺. Even more of us will just sell 🫣🏡💰💰
Nottingham City Council began their 2nd SL scheme on 1st Dec 2023. Despite applying before the start date, I am still waiting for my licence 6 months later. Given they already had all the systems need in place from the 1st scheme, how can they take this long to issue a licence & what oversight of the properties can be going on if they haven't managed to license the properties yet?
SL is a fund raising opportunity for Councils & tenants pay the price!
I'd also question that "everyone deserves a decent safe place to call home", some give up that right by wrecking the place and behaving appaulingly. Even councils evict sometimes, so how does that fit?
They dont get it.
tenants want cheaper rents but hotel accommodation and service, well thas ok but the rents are just being jacked up very time all these new law and reg come into play so as to get to a hotel standard so don't winge when rents have doubled to meet all these new expenses pushed on landlords.
Another article implying the rental market is full of rotten accommodation and all that stands between the tenants and misery is the council. But the vast majority of rentals are up to standard and this is a lucrative hammer to crack a nut.
Strange how these licences ONLY apply to the PRS, never social housing. 😡
If they brought this in in my area (Ashford, Kent) I would have to evict tenant and sell. Would not be worth my while anymore.
This is exactly my position.
If my local council tries on this ‘licensing scam’ another tenant will be evicted and another property leaves the rental sector.
I’ve already done this in another area, and that council had the nerve to ask me to sell to them!. I put them firmly in their place and sold to a young FTB couple with some aspiration in their lives.
That's why they want to bring in abolition of sec 21 to stop all the other landlords doing the same.
Quote: "Everyone deserves a safe and decent place to call home"
So what do owner occupiers do if they can't afford to bring their houses up to the same standard as tenants need?
I know that all of my family members houses would not be fit for a rental house and they don't have the money to upgrade them and won't let me help them out financially to do so.
I'm really lucky that my local councils do not have selective housing in my areas. When they do, I will be informing tenants that my rents are increasing and telling them exactly why.
1000 per month over 5 years will equate to 16.6 PCM and just to bring the message home, I'd probably do a rent review at the same time as my rents are years behind.
Don't forget to add your time to apply and admin the licence scheme.
Agreed John as my old foreman used to say 'time is money'.
In the times before Blair, improvement and repair grants were widely available to owners to maintain and improve their properties, with five year occupation conditions. Landlords could also benefit from these grants, with five year letting conditions. These grants were not means tested. HMO landlords could get special grants to help with the cost of fire safety works and shared facilities improvements.
One of Blair's first actions in power was to introduce means testing (you had to be in benefits to qualify) and seriously reduce the budget.
Spite, shortsightedness and downright stupidity.
Remember also licensing was a labour wheeze. I'm just saying so that anybody who thinks labour is good for landlords or housing generally, should look more deeply into the roots of current problems. All fingers point to Blair. Starmer will be worse as he's ideologically wedded to hard left policies. He would probably build thousands of Russian style "panel buildings" if he thought he could get away with it.
It seems peculiar that ordinary people in a council chamber can suddenly decide that the people they represent have to give them money or they will punish them. How is this different from gangster protectionism. Maybe landlords should rule that they will charge a levy for every interaction with the council. How is this less legal?
And that will Jack up rents even higher on the Tenants of the good landlords and do absolutely nothing to combat the criminal "under the radar" landlords, obviously.
I wonder what part the NRLA had in this. They actually supported the licensing scheme in Gt Yarmouth despite every landlord opposing it. Totally pointless scheme, the Council gave the contract to Homesafe a private company based in Doncaster. This is a council that is asking for the same landlords if they can accommodate their referrals.
We need an Association with a voice, its only going to get worse.
Is Bungling Boy Beadle on the board of Homesafe?
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