Britain’s most controversial rental licensing - questions being asked

A scheme which some regard as the most controversial landlord licensing regime in the country is coming under scrutiny.

Labour councillors on the Labour-controlled Nottingham council are querying the new scheme expected to come into force in 2023 which, it is alleged, would cost a cool £22.4m to administer and involve approaching 100 staff.

Under a previous licensing scheme, covering 32,000 private rental units in the city, some 446 properties were improved according to a council report. A new scheme, now being considered by the council, is likely to include more or all of the 45,700 or so private properties now throughout the city.

It’s anticipated the new licensing scheme would be £820 per property for five years, or £630 for accredited landlords. 

Local media reports say the council also wants a higher fee of $1,100 for what it calls “less compliant landlords” as well as significantly higher block licences for certain blocks of flats. 

But a report recently considered by the ruling Labour councillors show it will need roughly £22.4m to cover overheads for the scheme - including an amazing 94 staff members. No profit would be made.

One councillor - Jane Lakey - told a meeting: “It’s a very, very crude indicator but if 950-odd properties have been improved and then you are going to double the visits to properties in the next 10 months, and let’s be generous and say the number of properties doubles, that is around 1,800 properties improved, which is nice, in terms of averaging the cost out if you take that measure it would cost about £12,000 a property?”

Another Labour councillor said: “Going back to the point about landlords not being able to use the licensing scheme as a justification for increasing their rent, while I agree with that, I don’t think that will necessarily happen. Given that we are living at a time when there is significant inflationary pressures anyway, I would like to know what has been done in regards to the current scheme or could be done in the future scheme to try to monitor and evaluate any impact from Selective Licensing in terms of costs and levels of rent.”

A council leader told backbench councillors: “The issues on pressures of rent are not to do with Selective Licensing, they are fundamental increases that are happening for a number of reasons, including the cost of property, it is a supply and demand issue, there aren’t enough houses, there aren’t enough properties, that is the reality of the situation. There is no indication of it having a substantive or even a minimal impact.”