Another council on road to landlord licensing

Rotherham local authority is the latest to start a consultation process which, if other councils' track records are anything to go by, will inevitably lead to landlord licensing in the near future.

The council has designated three electoral wards as selective licensing areas within which all privately-rented properties will have to be licensed for a five year period at a maximum of £625, with reductions for accredited landlords.

The council says the aim of the scheme is to bring about long-term improvements in areas suffering from low housing demand where housing and neighbourhood standards are not acceptable and where other measures to deal with these problems have been successful.

The measure aims to reduce tenancy turnover, reduce levels of empty properties and help reduce anti-social behaviour.

A three month public statutory notification period' is now underway, suggesting the scheme may be implemented from early spring. There has already been a 10 week consultation revealing what the council calls broad support for selective licensing.

It showed that over 60 per cent of those who responded felt that private landlords should take more responsibility for their properties and the area in which they have invested.

However, the council admits there were also arguments that the same results can be achieved through voluntary measures.

But a statement from the authority says: Whilst the Council gave careful consideration to that option, it was considered that a mandatory scheme is the only way that a high degree of certainty can be achieved that all landlords will be involved.