8th
Jan 2025
The cost of local council licenses for landlords has now been shown to vary widely, with fees reaching up to £1,250 in some cases.
Ever since Christmas, the government has permitted councils to implement selective licensing schemes of any size without requiring approval from Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.
However, a property compliance service has found that the introduction of these selective license schemes has had minimal impact on improving standards, and of course councils love these schemes as they enable the issuing of revenue-generating civil penalties.
According to the service, the legal change introduced at Christmas allows licensing schemes to be introduced without landlords' awareness, unless they actively stay informed on letting regulations or their rental property is managed by a qualified agent.
Chief executive Paul Conway says: “This will increase the chances of all landlords & agents being caught out by widening licensing in an area, especially if it’s not well publicised. It could also increase their ongoing costs due to the licence fee charged.”
The property compliance service reports that new application fees can reach up to £1,225 in Leeds, while in Ashfield, they can be as low as £350 and not properly licensing of a property could result in fines of up to £30,000 per offence.
The service’s data reveals that 37 licensing schemes across England are currently under consultation or are expected to be implemented soon, potentially impacting landlords’ properties.
According to data from Yuno, there are 37 licensing schemes across England that are currently under consultation or could be coming soon to a council by which your properties will be affected by.
Notable schemes include:
- Blackpool – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Carmarthenshire – Additional Licence Scheme;
- Gateshead – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Gelding – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Lancaster- Selective Licence Scheme;
- Manchester – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Mansfield – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Newcastle upon Tyne- Additional Licence Scheme;
- North Lincolnshire- Selective Licence Scheme;
- North Yorkshire – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Reading – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Rochdale – Additional Licence Scheme;
- Salford – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Sandwell – Additional Licence Scheme;
- Stockton-on-Tees – Selective Licence Scheme;
- Walsall – Additional Licence Scheme.
Several new licensing schemes are set to be introduced in London, which include:??
- City of Westminster – Selective Licence Scheme;
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham – Additional Licence Scheme;
- London Borough of Enfield – Additional Licence Scheme;
- London Borough of Wandsworth – Selective Licence Scheme;
- London Borough of Waltham Forest – Additional Licence Scheme.
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