Yet another council is consulting on whether to continue a selective licensing scheme.

The scheme applies to several areas of Burnley and Padiham:t is proposed to renew this schemes for a further five years. There are also proposals to introduce selective licensing into two new areas of Burnley.

Burnley council is set to begin a 10-week consultation from the end of March with the decision on the future of all the areas being taken in the autumn.

The council has been operating selective licensing since October 2008 and claims that the aim is to support landlords and tenants and improve housing management in the private rented sector to help tackle issues such as falling house prices, anti-social behaviour, and general deprivation.

A report to the council’s executive says that communities had seen improvements under selective licensing. These include a fall in the number of empty homes, an increase in average house prices, reductions in instances of anti-social behaviour, and improvements in the energy efficiency of properties.

A spokesperson for the council says: “Selective licensing has been effective in improving certain areas of our borough and tenants, landlords and the wider communities have all benefited from the initiative. It’s now time to consider whether selective licensing should continue in these areas, and be introduced in others, and it’s important we hear from people in those communities so we can make an informed decision.”

The consultation will invite all residents, landlords, businesses and agencies working in the designation areas to comment on the proposals. All comments would be considered before a final decision on whether to extend the schemes is made.