Over 15,000 applications have so far been made by landlords to Newham Council. Newham is the first council in the country to implement a pioneering scheme to license all private properties. The trail-blazing scheme came into force on January 1st – but landlords have been given a month’s extension before it takes effect.
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Applicants will normally pay £150 for up to a five year licence if they register before 31 January, 2013. Otherwise the full fee is £500 for up to a five year licence. Enforcement action will be taken against landlords who fail to license and they could face fines of up to £20,000.
The council has consulted extensively with residents, stakeholders, private sector tenants, landlords and lettings agencies. Seventy-four per cent of residents and 76 per cent of private tenants supported the borough-wide licensing scheme.
The radical move comes after the borough announced the creation of a task force to combat ‘sheds with beds’. These are illegal ramshackle buildings built at the bottom of gardens which often house tenants living in appalling squalor, exploited by rogue landlords.
The council is determined to stamp out crime and anti-social behaviour associated with bad housing.
The scheme is backed by national housing charity Shelter which has urged other councils to follow Newham’s lead.
This pioneering initiative has already been successfully piloted on a small scale in the borough’s Little Ilford Neighbourhood Improvement Zone (NIZ). The pilot scheme achieved 100% compliance following enforcement action against a small number of non-compliant landlords.
Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: “It is clear from our consultation that our residents, including tenants in private sector homes, back our plans.
“This scheme shows that Newham is leading the country when it comes to tackling bad landlords who flout the law.
“We want to ensure that private sector rented properties are well managed and meet a good standard. We also want to deal with the crime and anti-social behaviour that is sometimes associated with bad private sector rented housing.
“There are good landlords in Newham and we want to work with them. Unfortunately there are also some unscrupulous ones – which these proposals would target.”
Sir Robin added: “We will never accept private sector tenants being directly exploited by landlords who force them to live in dangerous and unacceptable conditions.
“Good landlords have nothing to fear from this scheme. For the bad ones, this a clear message they must clean up their act – or pay the price.
“One bad house can drag down a whole street. We are doing this for the community.”
Kay Boycott, director of communications, policy and campaigns at Shelter, said: “We are delighted to hear that Newham Council is introducing this scheme, which will help protect vulnerable tenants from rogue landlords who are making their tenants’ lives hell.
“With a chronic shortage of social housing and more and more people being priced out of the housing market, renting is fast becoming the only option for thousands more Londoners. Our advice service for tenants in Newham sees people every day who are suffering at the hands of rogue landlords who are ignoring their responsibilities and wreaking havoc on tenants’ lives.
“We urge other local councils to follow Newham’s lead in sending a clear signal that enforcing the law against rogue landlords is a priority.”
For further information go to:
www.newham.gov.uk/Housing/PrivateSectorHousing/HousesInMultipleOccupation/PropertyLicensing.htm
