The local media in Yorkshire says Labour’s Rachel Reeves – the Shadow Chancellor – is campaigning for the introduction of a selective licensing regime in her constituency.
Reeves, the MP for West Leeds, is reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post to be in favour of the idea.
A party spokesperson told the paper: “Most landlords in the city and most landlords in [the Leeds suburb of] Armley are doing a great job. They’ll be able to meet the criteria and they’ll be able to get a licence. What it will cut down on is those rogue landlords, those difficult landlords that cause problems for their tenants. In order for them to get a licence, they’ll have to up their game and make sure they’re following council policy and doing right by their tenants.”
There is already a selective licensing regime in place elsewhere in the city – at Beeston and Harehills – where the fee is £825 per property, with a £150 discount for those landlords in a local accreditation scheme calls Leeds Rental Standard.
The spokesperson continues: “You can walk round Armley and there are a lot of streets where the majority of houses are owned by private landlords and rented out to the public. As councillors, we receive casework and the biggest issue we get in Armley is housing.
“Some of that is people trying to get on the council house waiting list. some of it is issues with the maintenance of council properties, but a lot of it is issues with private properties.
“As councillors, there’s very little we can do because we have very little power over these landlords. If they’re causing problems for their tenants, there isn’t much we can do but I know from speaking to council colleagues in parts of the city where they do have a selective licensing policy, that they’ve been able to make real progress and improve things for those tenants who are suffering from bad landlords.
“There are certain minimum standards in terms of what they provide tenants with and how they manage the property. I think it’s something the tenants of Armley would really benefit from.”
