What is Selective licensing?
Selective Licensing areas can be declared by a Council where there may be a higher than average number of issues in a particular area. This may include:
- poor housing conditions
- poor health
- tenant's struggling to maintain tenancy
- anti-social behaviour
- crime
Neighbourhoods proposed for Selective Licensing are usually those containing high concentrations of private rented properties, where it is believed that improved management of those properties would have a positive impact on the area and on resident’s lives.
In a Selective Licensing area private-rented properties would require a licence (with a few exceptions), which are purchased from the Council. Landlords who fail to licence houses or to comply with a set of conditions which are specific to their licence, can face prosecution in the courts, financial penalties of up to £30,000 and rent repayment orders.
A draft ‘Area Plan’ has been created for each proposed area. These will be refined by your feedback to this consultation. The ‘Area Plan’ will define the priority actions for each area which will be delivered over the period of any declaration should it proceed. Progress toward those actions will be published on the Council website along with other information about any declared areas.
As part of applying for a Licence, the Council must decide whether the landlord or their agents are 'fit and proper' and that the management arrangements are satisfactory. This means that they have no criminal convictions which may affect their management of the property, they have satisfactory arrangements in place to deal with repair and maintenance issues, and that they have adequate procedures for dealing with problematic tenants.
The Licence would contain a range of conditions, some specific to an area. The conditions aim to ensure that:
- both property and tenants are managed to a professional standard
- to improve safety, speed and quality of repairs
- to reduce impact on neighbours and the environment
- insist landlords take an active interest in their properties
Licenses would last for up to five years. The proposed licence conditions for each proposed area can be found below.
The proposed Licence conditions for the 2025 to 2030 have two notable additions to those applied to the 2020 to 2025 scheme
- A tighter minimum standard by which to access OVERCROWDING in properties in Eastwood, Town Centre, Boston Castle, East Dene, Clifton and Masbrough
- A new Licence Condition regarding Cannabis Cultivation which applies in all areas.
The remainder of the proposed licence conditions are broadly similar those applied in 2020 to 2025.
The Licence fee is payable at the start of the Licence period. The fees are used to administer the declaration and to provide additional staff and services to address an area’s issues by delivering it’s ‘Area Plan’.