Selective Licensing review shows unwillingness to listen to Landlords

Selective Licensing review shows unwillingness to listen to Landlords

15:29 PM, 25th June 2019, About 6 years ago 20

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The Selective Licensing Review report demonstrates the Government’s unwillingness to listen to landlords, the National Landlords Association (NLA) says.

The report, which was released today, ignores the NLA’s suggestion of requiring local authorities to conduct an annual assessment to demonstrate the effectiveness of the schemes against the rationale for their introduction. Currently, although it is considered best practice to complete this assessment, few local authorities do so.

The NLA does support the proposal for standardised requirements for property conditions, which local authorities can enforce against. However, the recommendations fail to include anything to close the loopholes which currently allow those who fail the ‘fit and proper’ person test to continue operating in other areas or through a letting agent.

Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA says: “Far too often we see local authorities failing to live up to their side of selective licensing. It’s shameful that the Review has ignored our call for regular reporting against schemes’ published objectives, which would be easy to implement and would actually hold councils to account.

“The majority of selective licensing schemes are introduced without any thought having been given to their implementation, funding and enforcement, leading to good landlords paying for effectively nothing. For the most part, selective licensing has failed to root out the bad landlords and the recommendations in the report will do very little to change that.

“The suggestion to introduce a national registration of landlords and a property MOT would be a viable alternative to selective licensing, but would need to be well thought out and proportionate to avoid an unnecessary burden on good landlords.”


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Monty Bodkin

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9:50 AM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Michael Barnes at 26/06/2019 - 23:50
They've taken the actual figures for 2017/18 and multiplied by 5 years and maybe thrown in compound interest. Then implied that licensing is only responsible for 3% of that (yeah, right).

They are claiming the 274% increases are for tenants at the bottom end of the market. Licensing taxes all tenants equally so has a disproportionately higher percentage increase on poorer tenants.

Monty Bodkin

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10:02 AM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Loved this question too;

Do you agree with the following?
Q106b Selective licensing can reduce the availability of mortgages.

Quite a sensible question
.....If it were asked to mortgage lenders, underwriters, valuing surveyors, mortgage brokers, letting agents or landlords.

But they didn't ask them, they only asked landlord licensing council staff.
Unsurprisingly only 9% agreed.

Michael Barnes

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18:58 PM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 27/06/2019 - 09:50
I think what you are saying is that they have made it up to fit their agenda.

Mark Shine

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21:09 PM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

274% rental increase over a five year period??

Just checked my own figures. Between 2010 and 2018 (8 year period) my rents increased by 14.81% (ie well below inflation).

Ok, my own statistics are effectively purely anecdotal, but their 274% claim is surely misrepresentative, misleading and/or manipulative?

Old Mrs Landlord

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22:23 PM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Shine at 27/06/2019 - 21:09Yes Mark, I worked out that based on their figures our three one-bed flats would now have rents well above those a four-bed detached house in the same town commands (admittedly not in a licensing area). They would be bringing in over £2,000 per month instead of the £450, £450 and £525 we actually get. One has had no increase in five years, one £25 and the other £50. With regard to Monty's point at 9.50 am, the two at £450 are the lower end of the market so by that reckoning should have been the most affected by rent increases. This report appears to be a work of fiction, at least in this one respect.

Troydave

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22:40 PM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Are there any other landlords out there that thought the review was meant to involve all sides and did anyone else try to input into it ?

Mark Shine

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23:31 PM, 27th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 27/06/2019 - 22:23
Hi OML. Many of my rental properties *are* sadly within the new and increasing licensing areas. Licensing and the ‘big one’... S24... will obviously exert some upward pressure on rental levels, but ultimately... assuming the ‘market’ is allowed to work freely... will always have the final say as to what rental levels will be .

Old Mrs Landlord

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5:29 AM, 28th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by David Lovegrove at 27/06/2019 - 22:40
For my part, this thread is the first I consciously heard of the review. I may have read of it in the RLA magazine or elsewhere but paid little attention since I was not personally affected - I would have just thought "Oh that's a good thing, now they'll realise licensing is doing more harm than good".

Old Mrs Landlord

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5:54 AM, 28th June 2019, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Shine at 27/06/2019 - 23:31
Yes, Mark, it's market forces coupled with government policies that have kept the rents on our one-beds well below inflation for many years. Lots of new-builds locally, restriction of benefits to room only rate for under 35s resulting in proliferation of HMOs and subdivision of larger town-centre flats into studios which get the same rate as a good-sized maisonette-style flat with garden and parking in a desirable residential area, squeeze on wages which have barely risen in ten years being the main factors.

bob the builder

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14:16 PM, 30th June 2019, About 6 years ago

I am surprised the review document didn't just say in capital letters 'Landlord Bad, Tenant Good. Trust Government & Council'

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