Agenda item

An officer from Housing will provide information on current consultation on landlord licensing.

Tony Cawthorne, Senior Project Manager, was present to discuss consultation undertaken on Discretionary Licensing (Additional and Selective) in the private rented sector (PRS). Slides delivered during the discussion are attached for information. Further additional comments were made as follows:

·         Discretionary licensing set minimum standards, ensures documentation required by law was in place, to ensure safe warm homes are provided in the PRS.

·         The Housing Team were looking at mandatory licensing, for premises or more than five people or two families sharing.

·         Monies received in fines from identified non-licenced properties were returned back to the local authority to enable more enforcement work.

·         There was a task force working with private sector housing on rogue landlord enforcement. During 2021 74 emergency prohibition notices had been served, usually on housing where conditions were so bad no one should live in them.

·         Over 104 electrical safety issues had been found with major works required.

·         Reasons for the requirement to consult were laid down in law on both selective and additional licensing.

·         The evidence base for consulting showed the national average of PRS at 19%, with areas of the city having higher concentration of PRS at 75%.

·         It was reported there were more issues with housing conditions and anti-social behaviour in the PRS sector. A table of Wards with tenure type was presented where it was highlighted the ward where complaints were highest were those wards with the highest rates of PRS and HMO dwellings, namely Westcotes, Fosse, Saffron, Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields and Stoneygate wards.

·         Three options were being considered for each of the wards and could include a mix of selective and additional licensing, or consultation might result in not scheme at all in some wards.

·         Areas of more than 20% PRS were analysed. However, analysis of finer level of detail (Lower Super Output Area (LSOAs)) showed areas of multiple deprivation.

·         Option A for selective licensing was mapped out and overlapped with option B for additional licensing across the city. Option C would target specific areas with high concentrations of PRS and HMOs for additional licensing. Further information on the different options could be found on the Council’s website.

Councillor Cutkelvin, Assistant City Mayor for Education and Housing, was present. She noted that all three schemes could be introduced in Fosse and Westcotes because of the concentration of anti-social behaviour, noise and nuisance which impacted on the quality of life of residents in the ward and was mainly to do with the types of housing in the wards which were ideal for conversion to HMOs. She added the schemes would deal with the concentration of HMOs and look at safety standards, and with engaging with landlords it was hoped it would improve the look and feel of an area. The schemes would also require a strong robust enforcement strategy. The decisions on which option to adopt would be made by Full Council.

The Chair summarised the options and points made:

·         It was possible to introduce more than one option in an area but would be difficult to implement with the resources available. She added that from a Ward Councillor perspective, Option A of selective licensing would cover all tenures of PRS which made up 51% of housing stock in Fosse Ward, whereas the option for additional licensing would only cover HMOs which made up 25% of housing stock in the ward.

·         The selective licensing scheme would cover landlords who were not fit and proper and help identify disguised HMOs and would cover the overcrowding issue, as the scheme would allow the inspection of buildings to see how people were sleeping.

·         When issuing a scheme there would be a three-month grace period to allow for staffing and processes to be put in place. The licence fee would cover staff, team and processes for five years.

·         The government was thinking about implementing a national landlord scheme but it would be light touch only.

·         There were licensing conditions, such as, minimum room sizes and space standards in the Housing Act 2004. A licensing scheme would give officers the authority to inspect a property and so took the onus away from the tenant to report.

·         With a licensing scheme, if there were a breach of licensing conditions, it would be easier to prosecute.

The Chair added that if there were further questions they could be addressed to officers following the meeting.

She added she was pleased to see the process of licensing was moving in the right direction and could say the council was making changes to improve lives.