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Government relaxes rules allowing councils to introduce licensing of private landlords
Councils will no longer need to get approval from the housing secretary to introduce licensing schemes aimed at improving standards in the private rented sector.
From Monday (23 December), new rules will enable local authorities to introduce a selective licensing scheme “of any size” without sign-off from central government.
Under a scheme, which councils can introduce in specific areas of their borough, all private residential landlords must have a licence for the properties they operate.
Until now, councils had to get approval from central government to introduce a scheme.
As part of the changes, local authorities will still have to consult with those affected, including private landlords, for “at least” 10 weeks before introducing a scheme.
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The system has divided opinion. Some housing groups are calling for more powers for councils, while private landlords have voiced objections.
Earlier this year, the previous government was forced to deny it was planning to abolish the system altogether, after a charity warned that scrapping it would be “catastrophic”.
The Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) has been calling for the barriers for councils to be relaxed.
Tracy Harrison, chief executive of the NHC, welcomed the government’s announcement.
“Our members have demonstrated that selective licensing schemes are an effective way of improving the quality of private rented homes, so this is something we’ve been campaigning for,” she said.
Ms Harrison said one in six private rented homes in the North of England had a Category 1 hazard.
But she added: “While this reform is great news, to make the biggest impact, it must sit alongside investment in local authority enforcement capacity and legislation which applies Decent Homes Standards to the private rented sector.”
However, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) criticised the move.
“The government’s plans will remove important safeguards against misuse of council licensing powers,” said Chris Norris, director of policy and campaigns at the NRLA.
“It absolves ministers of any responsibility and will give local authorities free rein to blanket entire towns with unnecessary and costly schemes.”
In London, both Lewisham Council and Lambeth Council approved plans for licensing schemes this year. Birmingham City Council introduced a scheme covering around 50,000 properties in 2022.
