A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme – and in doing so is boasting of the number of notices it’s so far issued against landlords.

Havering council has begun a consultation looking at extending its scheme, launched initially in March 2018.

As part of the publicity promoting its extension, the council says it has issued 133 financial penalty notices issued to unlicensed HMOs and 23 notices served warning landlords to improve standards.

There have also been 27 so-called ‘multi-agency’ enforcement operations; in addition, there have been 206 HMO licences issued.

Now there are plans to expand the HMO sheme from the current 12 wards to a further six. And on top of this, the proposals will also consider looking at introducing a selective licensing scheme to cover single family properties in two specific wards. 

The council claims the usual justifications for such a scheme – to ensure there is “a choice of safe, quality and well-managed accommodation,” to “reduce anti-social behaviour in the private rented sector” and to “further increase enforcement action on landlords that operate below-standard and unlicensed properties.”

The consultation runs until September 16.