All private landlords in four areas of Islington in north London - where the council claims there are particular problems with poor conditions – now have to pay the Labour authority following this week’s expansion of a local licensing regime.
Nearly a third of homes in Islington are privately rented, and the council says it is committed to “standing alongside private renters to make sure they have a safe place to call home.”
The new expanded scheme, which replaces a previous scheme covering only one area, means landlords who may not know about the scheme and have not signed up or meet licence conditions may face an unlimited fine or a criminal conviction.
The council says the scheme “will help level the playing field for responsible landlords, making sure rogue landlords who save money by dodging maintenance and renting out low-quality homes are held to account.”
A spokesperson says: “Everyone in Islington should have a safe, decent and genuinely affordable place to call home. Private renters are under huge pressure, now more than ever, and we’re determined to stand alongside them.
“While most of Islington’s landlords are responsible and take good care of people’s homes, we hear from hundreds of renters who don’t feel safe or listened to, while their rents go up and up. This new scheme will make sure they have the protection, and the homes, they deserve.
“If you’re a landlord in Finsbury Park, Tollington and Hillrise and you haven’t already signed up, make sure you apply now.”
In an information campaign to private renters, the council says they can check whether their landlord has a licence via the council’s Landlord Licence Public Register.
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Nothing to do with filling the coffers then after yet another wasteful spending spree
Are they “standing alongside” social hosing renters?🤔
I notice they use the same phrase as Bungling Boy Beadle: responsible landlords. A coincidence surely? 🤣
Doesn’t it make one wonder who the Rogues are.
London Landlords have paid £10’000’000.00, in fines.
Pay £100.00 to view a Public Register of Licensed Properties, why don’t they want you to you to see a public register.
God knows how much on licensing fees and compliance, couldn’t find a figure for that one.
Now say they are targeting low quality rental which in reality means not dangerous properties but abolishing affordable rentals, it certainly will have a huge rent increase when they get their claws-in. Tenants be sure to thank your new friends.
Unfortunately this is my area. Consultation was a joke as 11 tenants replied of which only 7 said good idea. This 70% figure is now banded about as very strong support for the scheme. The last scheme only lasted 2 years (instead of 5) before they thought lets max out and get more cash.
Consultation said the fee was £500, when it came to applying it is was £800i.e They have numpties who messed up the figures.
The postcode data is a joke as in London a postcode is huge and always has a dodgy side and a nice side so they now they are all blanket approached.
Dodgy LLs will not apply for licence. But they will be inspecting the hell out of LLs that applied to look for the smallest 'improvement' to make to the property but it will help their data set to prove they found 99% of properties at fault.
I expect they will go boroughwide with this scheme like all councils will in London. Remember this is Corbyn and Starmer's home council so expect Labour to green light all selective licensing when in power.
Logically I have applied and await the outcome of my application!
Although they may not deem me a fit and proper person due to my comments about the scheme and calling council licensing team numpties!
If they had so many complaints they should have followed them up as they have powers to do this even before licensing!
In my experience if you alert the powers that be they get involved and make your life a misery
If you don’t, nobody cares and life goes on
I much prefer option 2
Rogue landlords are purely used bank notes and operate under the radar anyway. What’s going to change for them? ZERO 🙄
Exactly.
This is about one thing and one thing only: Councils are broke due to monumental fiscal incompetence and now want to rinse Landlords to fill their pockets. Selling up will soon be the only option as a Landlord.
Right now, whilst there are other options available, selling up is the only SENSIBLE option. The headline numbers might still make sense to carry on as before but when you factor in the additional admin and compliance burden (which only increase), the additional taxation (which will only increase) and the stress (which will only increase), put a value on all that and do the numbers stack up any more? Especially compared to a nice admin/stress/time free 5% from the bank?
Money is best invested in the Stock Market or 5 percent from a bank. If Labour don’t spend wisely and give in to the Unions demanding large pay rises inflation will rise again so maybe banks paying 5 percent for longer than anticipated. The Bank of England have hinted at reducing rates but that won’t happen if inflation gets out of control.
They always manage to spin the justification as being in decent landlords' best interest, but this one is just daft. The playing field is levelled by dint of the high demand for ALL properties. It's not like landlords are competing with each other. And if there was low demand then the market would filter out the bad properties because there would be other options. Either way it's a lousy argument.
Spot on Martin.
Licensing is a total scam. I’ve never seen where all this so called Extra money is spent- cakes coffee. Extra civil servant in the office that already have too many fat controllers sitting on their bums in warm officers. Making more wasteful decisions.
So the plan is to charge the responsible law abiding landlords nearly £1k per property (enjoy the rent increase renters!) to allow them to say they’re standing next to renters to protect them? Yeah you keep telling yourself that - because everyone else thinks it’s a money printing scam.
So if all landlords sell up, what on earth are they going to do, blame the government next. Local government and national government playing games with people lives as usual.
They know selling is not an option for long term landlords with the removal taper relief / indexation and a reduction in C/gains tax allowance.
Just paying taxes on inflation not profit, they were bought when wages were low and a pound was worth pound, not 10p.
The Private Landlord has replaced the motorist as a never ending source of revenue for local councils and the government. They have messed up by not providing enough new housing, so to compensate for this gross error they take a big stick to the landlord in an attempt to beat him to death in revenge for their mistakes.
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