NRLA responds to Birmingham's plans to introduce selective licensing

The NRLA has raised several concerns to Birmingham City Council about their proposed selective licensing scheme. 

Birmingham ran a consultation from 25th October 2021 to 4th January 2022, asking for feedback from landlords, tenants, and residents on the plans to introduce selective licensing. 

The selective licensing designation has been proposed to help with reducing deprivation in conjunction with other key council strategies, reduce crime and improve the condition of the private rented stock. 

The council has proposed introducing a selective licensing scheme for all private rented properties covering 25 wards in the city. This would mean that all affected properties would require a licence to rent out the property. 

The proposed licence fee is £670 per property, with no discounts for accreditation or early applications. According to case law, the council proposed a variation fee of £80, which is unlawful. The NRLA has highlighted this in its consultation response. 

 The NRLA has raised concerns about the proposed scheme, citing the council’s lack of evidence to show previous enforcement activity and the unlawful variation fee. 

Samantha Watkin, policy officer for the NRLA: “Councils should think very carefully before embarking on such large schemes if they have not adequately demonstrated the need to introduce them. Instead, they should fully utilise the existing enforcement powers at their disposal and work with private landlords instead of against them. There will be a rising cost for landlords that already comply with standards without showing how licensing would improve enforcement against those criminal landlords who don’t. 

The consultation has since closed, but you can find further information about the council’s plans on their website here.