Croydon yet another area to introduce Selective Licensing

Reply to the comment left by "david dahill" at "16/07/2014 - 14:08":

David- inline with Selective Licenesing condtion so favoured by many councils can you please supply all of us on property 118 with a CRB and debarrment check and links to all of your social media profiles before we can continue with the relationship 🙂

Ha-Ha

Chris

Reply to the comment left by "chris wright" at "16/07/2014 - 14:43":

Yes, very good... will check with my line manager "in post" but may not be allowed to due to data protection issues etc. (joke, btw!)

Reply to the comment left by "Monty Bodkin" at "13/07/2014 - 13:41":

Hi Monty,

In response to your comments -

I agree that the power for additional licensing exist and most licensing schemes by number are additional, dealing with particular problem areas. The selective licensing of the market in general is more debateable, not least because the ASB test in the act is not likely to be justifiable across an LA's area. But that is not to say that there are areas where a case for selective cannot be made.

LA's do carry out checks for HB but they are aimed at the claimant. The HB departments are not tasked with checking the landlords, which is why there is some HB fraud orchestrated by landlords.

Over time the LA will gather information. Essentially by comparing case records from enforcement and tenancy relations teams and this will lead them directly to landlords who are not likely to be licensed and who are on the radar for previous infractions.

These landlords can then be prosecuted for failure to license and this then fails the fit and proper test, so management will have to be passed on to another manager who can be licensed. That is what is happening in the existing schemes.

I think the relative cost of licensing is an issue, landlords are the first to complain about the costs but that is relevant to the rents passing. If the rent for a room in a bedsit in London is £150 a week and £150 a month in Liverpool then the LA need to take that into account.

I don't think you know how many unlicensed landlords have been brought to book in Newham and therefore you can't say whether it has worked or not. I am aware that for every prosecution they have made there have been a number of landlords who have gone quietly and licensed as soon as they are caught.

On that basis the number of unlicensed properties is demonstrably reducing and will continue to do so for a while. At some point they will not make very much more progress but in the meantime a substantial number of rentals will have improved in condition and management and some villains will be put out of the game altogether.

I realise I am going to be disagreed with but there is undoubtedly an increasing public health issue in London's PRS and licensing is one of the tools to address this.

Landlords of croydon have a look at the council wages under Selective Licensing proposals...

Admin 4 staff @£40,300pa TOTAL £161,200
Technical staff 15 @£71,500pa TOTAL £1,072,500
Management 1 @£80,600pa TOTAL £80,600

oh and add on £50k per year charge for an SLA (bit of paper) between the SL team and the contact /call centre.

IT costs are £10k per week too....i could go on.

I was very interested to read a recent article in the Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/society-professionals/2014/jul/18/gentrification-what-happens-to-those-left-behind about how poorer residents are beginning to feel alienated and priced out of their own towns by local shops and businesses being taken over by more expensive and upmarket replacements. It goes on to say that this gentrification is being caused by... privately rented property in poorer areas being rented by more affluent tenants... (They cite Oxford as an example, but this is happening in all areas with good transport links and plenty of jobs and commerce nearby.) This is happening a lot in Croydon; I have two properties in wards in the poorer part of town. Two of my tenants are managers and another runs his own successful business.

Reply to the comment left by "John Daley" at "16/07/2014 - 18:50":

Hello John,

"On that basis the number of unlicensed properties is demonstrably reducing and will continue to do so for a while."

No it isn't.

If it was, Newham would have been very loudly, well.. demonstrating it.

Remember this from May last year? -

http://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/News/The-big-3-0-Thirty-thousand-applications-made-by-landlords-for-Newhams-property-licensing-scheme.aspx

We are now at about 32500 well over a year later.

2500 stragglers, reluctants, natural landlord turnover and newcomers (the PRS is growing). And 134 criminals that probably could have been done under existing offences anyway.

Around 10000 unlicenced properties.

About 75 years to clamp down on them, at current 'success' rates.

-Except it won't be, because that 10000 is in a constant state of flux.

Newham may now have created their own Hydra monster.

We are also rapidly approaching the huge administration task of renewing those 30000+ 'good' landlord licenses.

"a substantial number of rentals will have improved in condition and management "

That's an unquantifiable statement. The type of nebulous stuff Newham will claim
as proof of its success. That is the beauty of it from Neham's POV, even when it is an abject failure, they can claim it would have been far worse without licensing. There is very little solid to hold them accountable for.

"and some villains will be put out of the game altogether."

And others will take their place and that of the decent landlords who have been driven out.

It seems as ever that criminals are rewarded and honest folk penalised...

i'm told 35% of ASB in one London Borough is for overgrown / untidy gardens....green fingers at the ready LL's !

Chris,

Is this tongue in cheek ?

I haven't seen poor garden maintenance referred to in any official description of ASB.

It might be evidence of poor management as the landlords are not enforcing tenancy conditions.

Which Borough ?

Reply to the comment left by "John Daley" at "21/07/2014 - 16:22":

It's Waltham Forest i'm reliably informed, they've been at it for a few years and people love to complain....

If you know of a dirty front garden, report it:

Online
Email wfdirect@walthamforest.gov.uk
Phone 020 8496 3000