CIEH welcomes new report calling for stronger selective licensing

An organisation has welcomed the Renters’ Reform Coalition report calling for more selective licensing.

The Chartered Institute of Environment Health (CIEH) says they are “delighted” the Renters’ Reform Coalition has called for better funding for council enforcement and stronger selective licensing.

The CIEH has been pushing for a simpler set of housing standards to make things clearer for landlords, tenants, and local authorities.

Make it easier for councils to introduce licensing

The Renters’ Reform Coalition’s latest report ‘Roadmap for Reform’ calls for central government to support councils through “better resourcing, funding for training of environmental health officers, making it easier for councils to introduce licensing and consolidation of legislation”.

The report also says the proposed private rented sector database “should support and complement selective licensing” and suggests steps the government could take to make it easier for local authorities to use licensing schemes to improve housing standards.

These steps include enabling local authorities that operate selective licensing schemes to use licence conditions to improve housing conditions, increasing the maximum duration of discretionary licensing schemes from five to ten years, and removing the Secretary of State’s ability to veto selective licensing schemes that cover more than 20% of the local authority area.

Unnecessary barriers to use of selective licensing schemes

Mark Elliott, President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “We have been working hard to win support on these issues and are delighted to have obtained this backing for our positions from the Renters’ Reform Coalition.

“The importance attached by the coalition to funding for local authority enforcement and strengthening licensing is very welcome indeed.

“We are particularly pleased that our positions on funding for training of environmental health professionals, consolidation of the various housing standards and removal of unnecessary barriers to the use of licensing schemes are echoed in the report.”