2nd
Dec 2016
Nottingham City Council is intending to introduce a city wide licensing scheme of all landlords for their 43,000 plus private rented properties of which there are 7,748 HMOs.
A document prepared for the council members recommends that the license fee should be £600 per property, it will also need to employ a seventy strong team that will be able to cope with more than 5,000 applications every year.
The consultation process will start by the end of the year and if the scheme is accepted then the licensing throughout the city will be in full operation by the end of 2018.
It has been estimated that if each city private rented homes' license is paid for , then it will net the City council more than £25 million.
The City council says that it is planning to introduce the licensing scheme as they have received more than 4,500 complaints, over the last four years, with problems over rented 'homes'. Once again the council says that the scheme will reduce anti social behavior and improve standards.
Its figures claims that between 2001 and 2011 private rented accommodation increased by 12 % which is 3% higher than the average for England.
As with most licensing schemes landlords will only receive a licence for their property if it meets the necessary standards.
A council spokeswoman said :"By obtaining a licence at a reasonable cost, landlords will be able to clearly demonstrate to prospective tenants that they meet required standards. So the introduction of a licensing scheme would not only bring benefits for tenants, local communities and council tax payers by reducing the cost of enforcement action necessary, it would also actually benefit landlords themselves."
Richard Merrick of PIMS says: "Once again a council is using the excuses of improving standard in private rental accommodation and reducing anti-social behavior by introducing an authority wide licence. The extra revenue has nothing to do with it of course."
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