Selective Licencing Website Set to Go Viral

Dear Mick
Good luck with your campaign. I know Nottingham are difficult and anti-landlord.
May I pick you up on one area? Your site refers to additional costs including:
Landlord insurance – up to £200 per year
An electrical safety certificate – £140 – £160
A valid gas safety certificate – £80 – £100
An EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) – £80 – £100
A PAT test for portable appliances left in the property – £1 – £2 per item with minimum invoice values e.g. £50
Would it not be true that landlords will have these already? Surely you have insurance and get gas safety certificates every year? EPCs and PAT testing are not annual requirements and neither is the electrical safety test. It weakens the case if you argue that these are all ADDITIONAL costs brought about by selective licensing.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 25/05/2018 - 11:19
Not that I’m Mick, but an EPC is not a requirement in all cases (think legacy tenancies), yet is for the granting of a SL. An electrical safety certificate, whilst a wise idea, is not mandatory ordinarily…except when it comes to the granting of a NCC SL.

Nottingham, some staff are VERY ANTI-LANDLORD. Especially the Councillors. Wow & Gees, they han’t got a clue.
The new guy head of Licensing is very good, he’s come from outside the council & can see the obstacles us Landlords are facing from years of anti-Landlord policy.

Yes, Landlords will have some of these already, apart from the Electrical certificate & PAT's. The site is highlighting to tenants what they don't know what Landlords have to pay & gonna' have to pay.

It's the costs in ONE GO that the Council ain't telling tenants. they are implying ALL costs are only gonna' £1.85pw & we can pay things weekly 'cause that's what the tenants are telling us.

Yes and an EPC ain't a requirement in my own house either.

I have a debacle which I’m gonna’ type out now fully, so I can copy paste to Landlords, Licensing etc.
Yesterday we got told minimum bedroom size 6.51 sqm for over 10 years old kids. Which the Govt bringing in minimum size for Rogue Landlords overcrowding etc.
And Licensing said yesterday something like if smaller than 6.51 sqm, we or they got 18 months to move or do something about it.

Now here’s what happens in the real world, where I ain’t overcrowding like London 20 immigrants to a house.
Over the last 20 years, I’ve had bedrooms in my houses to fit single bed in & wardrobe in, I’m guessing 6ft 6 x 6ft 6. Which is less than 4 sqm. SHOCK HORRORS I hear u say.

But when woman has moved in, she says WOW, I now have 3 bed house, I have a room to put my baby in, my 5 year old, my 10 year old kid etc. Brilliant Thank you. My last council house was overcrowded, 3 kids sharing 1 bedroom

Now I’ve just read on Google, that this 6.51 sqm is too small when kid gets over 10. So what do we do? Chuck ‘em out? Are Licensing saying they can’t live there any more?
Now here’s more real world stuff for u. These rooms were only mean’t for baby. As the past 20 years have gone by, as many of you will know, housing shortage massive, & what was babies in these rooms years ago are now over 10 years old. And here’s more shock horror for u. I’ve gone in some of these rooms & woman Mum tenant has now got bunk beds in this SMALL room with TWO kids in there. What? Is that my fault? I've said u can't put two kids in there. She says where they gonna' go? The council has nothing for me. I can't afford bigger house. What do u propose I do?

All ‘cause the council can’t house them.

And I also know the other dept of the council is making their rooms even smaller so they can get their tenants out the bedroom tax trap, so the council no longer have to chase up the £15 a week cut that gets placed on tenant in 3 bed & now council can say it’s a 2 bed cause room too small, even though council know tenants will still be using it as a bedroom. You couldn’t make it up, could you.

I also have a family of 5 who lived in 3 bedroom of mine for 12 years. 5 years ago, my 5 bed come up & they moved into this one. The 53 year old brother is SO SO THANKFUL he now has his own bedroom. Which I know is smaller than 6.51 sq m. But he is SO SO GRATEFUL. But is Licensing telling him he now has to move. Where is he gonna’ go?

All REAL WORLD STUFF! But Now Licensing will be making these homeless.

Mick Roberts I really appreciate your efforts . I will be providing you full support in this.

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 25/05/2018 - 11:25
Hi Luke
The EPC regulations came into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and will apply to all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020. Mick makes some fair points but railing against the cost of electrical safety certificates isn't going to help.

Yeah I ain't moaning about electrical certificates. I think good idea going forward once they are LAW.
I am saying another cost that the council house next door don't have to have, nor the private home owner.
But biggest thing we have in Nottingham, they ain't gave us enough time to get them done, then back to accreditation, in time for their inspections, then in time for Licensing deadline.
Nottingham now ain't insisting on them if u don't come via the accredited route, which I was telling 'em months ago, follow what the Supreme court has told u to do, but the councillors and their Legal team was desperately trying to circumvent (is that a real posh word?) going against what the court has ordered. The ruling where they said u cannot ask for stuff that's already in normal legislation. If the court has ruled, the court has ruled. But Oh no, not in Nottingham Council book.

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 25/05/2018 - 12:35Get it right Mick 😉 6.51 is only too small if its in the PRS, !!!
the room sizes Don't apply to Social Housing, - juts like the government won't admit double-standards and Bias. !
Great web site by the way, well done.

Can you Landlords please sign this & forward to all your contacts.
A small hope, we have to try anything & everything.
I'm sure we not get 10k signatures, but the more Licensing & Govt start to see these things, who knows.
“Petition calling for a review of Nottingham City Councils Selective Licensing."
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/223039

http://www.selectivelicensingtruth.co.uk/