2 hours by Bicycle or Helicopter

2 hours by Bicycle or Helicopter

14:57 PM, 17th September 2018, About 6 years ago 10

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I promised last week to update readers after the “end of the road” Offering.

Now to Sheffield Council and their Partners The RLA.
Sheffield have introduced their Selective Licensing Scam. I have reviewed their application process and conditions and the scheme is a farce riddled with illegality.

Firstly the Council state that one should consider not applying for a licence, if the applicant lives 2 hours away. Yes readers the Council and RLA think that a landlord who lives two hours away cannot manage his portfolio. Are properties to be inspected at 2 hourly intervals ?

Do they mean 2 hours by Bicycle (Councils love Green operators) or two hours by car or Helicopter. I joke you not. Look this up on Sheffield”s website. It is beyond belief.

It gets worse. Sheffield Council will retain your data for 7 years, even if you withdraw or are unsuccessful with your application. This is a blatant breach of GDPR. The principles are clear, collation must be reasonable and not excessive and furthermore the Council have a duty to keep data up to date and current. How will they keep this data current as the landlord might sell his property. Another GDPR Breach and yes folks, all under the watchful eye of our so called representative body the RLA.

Sheffield then wade deeper in to the mire demanding landlords supply details of other properties licensed with other councils, this is the same trap that Sefton jumped in to. Sefton now acknowledge that the ICO must rule on this, yet the RLA failed to point this out to Sheffield. WHY? Perhaps the reluctance of the RLA to fight the landlords corner can be found In the Sheffield introduction to their scheme. Sheffield refer to their partner the RLA and state that they expect landlords to undergo a training course with them.

It is a disgrace, and no landlord in their right mind in Sheffield should attend a course that cannot spot blatant GDPR breaches time and again.

Does it end here. Not by a longshot. Sheffield demand that landlords keep all correspondence relating to ASB and provide it to them on demand. I myself took Liverpool to the first tier Tribunal and obtained a ruling, Liverpool had to subsequently amend their conditions stating that where a landlord received correspondence confidentially re ASB, The landlord was not obliged to pass said info to the council. The reasoning behind this ruling was that Local authorities did not have systems in place like the police to protect informants.

So here we have Sheffield ignoring the ruling of the First Tier Property tribunal and inserting an illegal condition in their conditions. The RLA clearly are completely unfit to offer any training based on their acceptance of such a fatally flawed scheme.

For Sheffield Landlords by the way it is £500 to apply, then a new wheeze, another £250 to cover the inspection.
The HA 2004 states that provided one has made a valid application , this is a defence against prosecution. If however the LA provide a scheme which is flawed, Breaches GDPR, Discriminates against London Landlords (the 2 hour away rule) and inserts a condition already struck down by the first tier tribunal, it is difficult to see how a landlord could even start the process of applying.

Larry


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Comments

Richard of York

16:10 PM, 17th September 2018, About 6 years ago

As a member of the RLA I'd like to hear the organisation's view (from one of their senior management team) on the above observations from Mr. Sweeney.
I believe the RLA should be out there fighting their members' corner - not helping local authorities milk us. £500 for a licence plus £250 for an inspection is outrageous. Where I have had inspections - not in Sheffield - they last about 15 minutes - nice money if you can get it.

John Bullock

18:16 PM, 17th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Larry I can’t help but feel this is little to do with quality or standards in housing but more to do with treating landlords as a cash cow. Given the charge is £250 (OMG) what happens if the tenant is not in or you’re ill? Are they charged £250 again? You can see this becoming a mine field and a bare trap for landlords whom are stuck in traffic as a consequence to Highways repairing pot holes. As for the breaches in law when courts or tribunals have created precedent it makes you wonder about the quality of so called professionals at Councils. Certainly Larry you are the benchmark by which they will be challenged and in which I’ll have your back as we move forward.

Chris @ Possession Friend

8:25 AM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by John Bullock at 17/09/2018 - 18:16
I think Everyone on P118 supports the Anti-Licensing campaign, Larry and anyone who objects to the running with Foxes and hounds principle.

tony tony

8:29 AM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by John Bullock at 17/09/2018 - 18:16
professionals at council ! who have you been listening to ? they are not professional in any way shape or form cheers ts

AA

10:39 AM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Why do you have to be 2 hours away ? What use is a landlords presence when it is the attendance of a plumber that is required? You should be contactable 24/7 with a principal and secondary contact perhaps. So what about the corporate landlords, does the CEO have to live 2 hours away ?

Larry Sweeney

11:02 AM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Yes AA. 2 Hours is what they say. It really is quite unbelievable. That is the level of intelligence in the council that hard pressed tax payers are funding. I would very much like to hear from the RLA but perhaps they are more than 2 hours away .

Gary Dully

17:22 PM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Cheshire East council are also asking for all licensing details and licenses already obtained by any landlord throughout the UK that are applying for a license through them.

I had no idea that it was deemed illegal to do so.

Larry Sweeney

21:56 PM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Hi Garry.
I can confirm that I and another Landlord have Reported Sefton Council aka Sefton Plus to the ICO re their tactics demanding information re other properties licensed in other Areas. Sefton have now said they will await the ICO ruling. Sefton have difficulty in explaining how they will keep this information up to date and accurate. They want landlords to assist them remain GDPR compliant. What sheer stupidity. One thing Selective Licensing has done is to expose the extremely low IQ of Council Honchos.

AA

22:38 PM, 18th September 2018, About 6 years ago

Well I am of the view which ever half- wit floated the idea and whichever submissive minion approved this should be weeded out. They should not be receiving any tax payer s money by way of a salary. In fact they should be nowhere any post of responsibility. This type of behaviour gives credence to government being the employer of last resort and those in post would be unemployable elsewhere. This is not true but is worrying as we have a pretty big government sector. . However no one in a government post should be allowed in post unless you have at least 10 years of private business experience. Not corporate. Individual or SME. Elsewise as is seen common sense and the real world seems to be alien concepts.

I wonder where these people go after work, how they live, what do they see when they look in the mirror , someone intelligent ? adding value ? or proud that they have been repeatedly beaten with a stupid stick all their lives.

Anyone venture a guess?

Mick Roberts

11:34 AM, 23rd September 2018, About 6 years ago

This is shocking.
So gone are the days when someone who has some spare money & let's forget him/her investing for theirself. They like to bring a house back to use & house someone who otherwise may be homeless, overcrowded etc.
And they wish to use their money, but leave with a reputable agent.

The councils have got all this wrong.
Every week, I'm getting a few Landlords or tenants telling me their Landlords abroad is selling, even though they've both been happy there for years.
Last week was Malaysian Landlord, this week another country I can't remember. What has the tenant or Landlord done wrong?
The Council's answer is get a relative to apply for one. I say Why? What if relative is 80 years old?
These councils have definitely got lots wrong.

And now u telling me 2 hours away.

£250 to cover an inspection? That is shocking too. Ooh I'm suddenly pleased with Nottingham Licensing ha ha.

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