Your licensing update for April
In our licensing blog this month, we round up active licensing consultations that we would encourage private landlords to respond to as well as new schemes coming into force in the future.
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is currently consulting on plans to introduce new selective and additional licensing schemes in the borough. The council says it wants to tackle poor standards, poor management and improve the quality of privately rented homes overall. The proposed selective licensing fee is £950, and the additional licensing fee £1,400. Discounts are available on the fee for licence holders who are accredited and receive a satisfactory rating from their compliance audit inspection.
The consultation runs until Tuesday 26th April, and landlords are encouraged to share their views on the proposals via the council’s website here.
London Borough of Bexley
The London Borough of Bexley's current selective licensing consultation is due to end soon.
The council is proposing to licence just one ward which it says has the highest amount of category one hazards and elevated levels of anti-social behaviour. The council wants to focus on the Belvedere ward to allow it to deal with rogue landlords and crack down on the number of hazards and anti-social behaviour in the ward.
Licence fees are set at £800 per licence, with discounts available for accredited landlords and early bird applications. The consultation will run until Wednesday 3rd April, and landlords can read more about the proposals and formally respond to the consultation on the council’s website.
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council has recently launched a new licensing consultation for a new city-wide additional licensing scheme and new selective licensing schemes. The selective licensing schemes would cover the following wards:
- Lemington
- Denton Court
- Columbia Grange
- Howdene Road
- Howlett Hall Road
- Ravenswood Road
- Swinley Gardens
There are also amended schemes for Cowgate ward and West End ward, which the council is proposing to licence for another five years.
The proposed new selective licensing schemes will cover 10% of private rented homes in Newcastle, which equates to 2,827 properties. The council says that there are significant and persistent problems caused by anti-social behaviour, high levels of deprivation and high levels of crime as reasons for introducing selective licensing.
The proposed fees are £1,000 for a selective licence, and £1,100 for an additional licence.
Further information about the proposals and how to respond to the consultation can be found here.
North Lincolnshire Council
The consultation has been launched to introduce a new selective licensing scheme in North Lincolnshire, in two areas in Scunthorpe. The council is introducing this scheme on the basis of poor housing conditions, deprivation and crime.
Area one covers parts of the Crosby & Park and Town wards, including 1,230 private rented properties.
Area two covers part of the Frodingham ward with 275 private rented properties.
The consultation closes on Thursday 18th April. Further information about the scheme and how to respond can be found on the council's website here.
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey has approved a borough wide additional licensing scheme which will come into force on 17th June 2024. The designation applies to all buildings that are Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), including Section 257 HMOs in the borough. The scheme will run till 16th June 2029.
To apply for a licence or enquire about further details of the designation, the council can be contacted by either phone: 0208 489 1335 or email: [email protected]
