For latest show news visit www.landlordshow.info
industry news
Liverpool licensing scheme a
‘vanity project that will fail tenants’
Liverpool City Council’s landlord
licensing scheme is a vanity project
that will fail to protect tenants from
crooks. That’s the warning from the
Residential Landlords Association
(RLA) as the Council’s new licensing
scheme comes into force.
All private landlords in the city must
apply for a five-year licence for each
of their rented properties as a way, the
Council argues, of improving standards
in the sector.
With over 23% of households in the
city in private rented housing, the RLA
is warning that the scheme will not
protect tenants.
Whilst the Council has introduced the
measure, it is also cutting the budget of
the Environmental Health Department,
responsible for enforcing the scheme,
by up to 25%.
Independent research for the RLA has
also warned that such a scheme leads to
increased rents.
The research, published last year and
conducted by Michael Ball, Professor
of Urban and Property Economics at
the University of Reading, said of such
registration schemes: “Faced with higher
costs and more hassle, landlords will try to
pass the costs on in higher rents, quit the
industry or invest less.”
With the North West Property
Association now formally affiliated with
the Residential Landlords Association,
Alan Ward, Chairman of the RLA, said:
“Liverpool’s licensing scheme is a
populist vanity project that will do little
to improve standards.
“The crooks won’t come forward, tenants
will shoulder the cost of the scheme in
higher rents and the Council will not be
able to enforce its own measures.
“Many of the standards which landlords
will be expected to meet are already
legal requirements. It is disingenuous to
suggest they are somehow new.”
The RLA believes a more effective
model, outlined in its manifesto for the
sector, would be to change council tax
forms. This would mean tenants would
be able to identify if their property is
rented and if so, who their landlord
is. Crucially, it would prevent criminal
landlords evading scrutiny and provide
the Council with vital intelligence which
they do not currently have.
Alan Ward continued: “Liverpool and
Councils across the country need to get
smarter in their thinking.
“With Council budgets being cut and
no party proposing to reverse them, we
need to move beyond proposals that
only find the majority of good, decent
landlords.
“The RLA’s alternative would provide
Councils with the intelligence they need
to prevent the crooks that bring misery
to tenants’ lives from evading scrutiny.
Only then can we bring the book down
on those who should not be renting
properties out.”
Liverpool City Council’s Assistant
Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing,
Councillor Ann O’Byrne, said: “Everyone
knows someone who has a horror story
to tell about a bad landlord. This scheme
is about giving tenants some expectation
of their rights, and the city Council the
power to tackle breaches.
“Liverpool has a growing number of
privately rented properties and the
sector is vital in meeting the city’s
housing needs, so it is important that
what is on offer is of high quality.
“Although many landlords operate
professionally, we are concerned
about a number of landlords who
rent properties which fail to meet
satisfactory standards of tenancy and
property management.
“This has a negative impact on the health
and welfare of local communities and on a
housing market that is already vulnerable
in terms of vacant properties, low house
prices and depressed rental values.”
Landlord fined for urine stench in property
A rogue landlord has been slapped
with a £2,000 fine for failing to
repair a rental property in Neasden
where one of the bedrooms smelt
so badly of urine that his tenants
couldn't use it.
Mr Gareth Kirwan was convicted at
Willesden Magistrates’ Court for failing
to carry out the repairs to his property
in Aylesbury Street, despite repeated
requests by Brent Council.
The tenants, who had complained
about the state of the property since
moving in, contacted Brent's Private
14 Landlord & Buy-to-Let Issue 58 • April 2015
Housing Services Team in June last year
for help. Upon inspection, Brent Council
officers discovered a strong smell of
urine, damp and a leaking toilet.
When promises to start repairs weren't
kept, Brent Council served a formal
Improvement Notice to Mr Kirwan in
October to improve the condition of the
property, but this too was ignored.
Mr Kirwan will now have to pay a
£2,000 fine along with costs of £1,147
and a surcharge of £120. Si