One of London’s most enthusiastic councils for additional and selective licensing has pushed back the date for enforcement action against landlords and their agents.

The website London Property Licensing says that the deadline for applications for licences under Hackney council’s new schemes had been set for Sunday with enforcement action scheduled to start yesterday, but the council has extended the deadline until February 28. 

In October the council introduced a borough-wide additional licensing scheme plus a selective licensing scheme covering part of the borough, with both schemes set to last for five years.

At the same time some 4,000 HMOs in Hackney will also require licensing – making an estimated 9,000 properties needing some form of new licensing.

However, London Property Licensing says that other Hackney council sanctions remain in place for landlords operating a licensable but unlicensed property.

If a licence application has not yet been submitted, the tenants could apply for a Rent Repayment Order to try to claim back all the rent they have paid since October 1 this year.

You can find out more here.