Birmingham’s Labour controlled council is writing to Housing Secretary Michael Gove for consent to apply a new licensing scheme over 25 wards of the city.
The council’s ruling cabinet has backed the scheme, to run for five years, which according to a report to councillors will ensure all privately rented properties within the areas meet a “minimum housing standard” which gives tenants “a stable home”.
No fewer than 40,000 homes will be operating under the licensing regime.
A report to the cabinet says: “A selective licensing scheme will ensure that all privately rented properties within the designated area meet a minimum housing standard, which gives the tenant a stable home and helps with building stable communities.
“Tenants would be confident that homes meet the minimum energy saving requirements which would contribute to the green city aspiration. A Selective Licensing Scheme will also contribute to alleviating fuel poverty as measures to improve standards will ensure that heating appliances are properly checked, maintained and working efficiently.
“Improvements in the housing standards should also make properties more secure which should assist with minimising crime, particularly burglary. We will work with partners to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness. The availability of and living in improved housing conditions should contribute to a reduction in homelessness.”
A consultation on the scheme ran over the Christmas period for 10 weeks up to January 4.
As part of its response to concerns raised in the consultation, the council says: “Selective licensing works in unison with other strategies and with partners such as West Midlands Police to address issues at a neighbourhood level in a holistic manner. Selective licensing will enhance the community safety partnership response.”
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You can see that going up every year , like business rates etc
Just another stealth tax …
The only thing tenants of most LLs get from SL is a rent rise!
........and so it continues ! I can see this creeping into my area (NW), any opportunity to make a buck for the skint local authorities. We all know that the very LL's they want to target will simply go deeper underground and will not register, they don't care..... the main thrust of this is to have another income stream into the councils coffers.
The tenants of B'ham had better get ready for a heafty rent rise, on top of the already massive increases in the cost of living, and of course none of the impact of what is happening in the news at the moment has really hit home. I am so glad i have made the decision to sell up, i can then watch from afar.
Hit the landlord, but really they are hitting the tenant, chatting to a landlord friend of mine here in Norwich yesterday he had been on the phone to all his tenants increasing their rents an average £50 per month each, something we all are now going to have to do just to cover increased costs
For sure I will add the extra costs that I have to pay.
If I do not, I would be broke pretty quick!!!!!!!
Dear Michael Gove,
Please can we have permission to fleece 40,000 landlords (and in turn renters) so that we have an extra £28,000,000 to squander on more pointless projects that nobody wants or needs. In return, we will make some vague promises about the benefits whilst ensuring none of these promises will be measurable or demonstrable - that way we will be able to claim we have achieved those aims and nobody will be able to prove otherwise - and best of all, we will have the extra money.
Obviously social housing will be exempt from any of these measures - we couldn’t possibly be expected to find the money to hit the standards we demand from real world landlords.
Please please please say yes, we really love free money, it would make us all so happy.
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