A consultation on a proposed new policy to licence HMOs has been launched by Norwich council, and residents are being invited to give their views.

The main changes from the old policy to the new include:

a) making the administration and inspection of licensed properties simpler for both applicants and the council, as well as minor amendments to better align the policy with current and new legislation

b) helping provide more detail on what information applicants need to submit with licence applications

c) removal of the one- and three-year licence options, all licences will now be five-year licences

d) introducing a risk-based approach to tackle licence breaches, in addition to statutory powers to revoke and vary licences.

There are currently about 1,000 homes licensed with the council as being under multiple occupation.