Selective licensing expands across thousands of PRS properties

Manchester City Council and Gateshead Council have introduced expanded selective licensing schemes targeting thousands of privately rented homes across their regions.

The councils say the initiatives aim to ensure safer, better-managed properties while tackling issues like antisocial behaviour and substandard housing.

In Manchester, an additional 1,863 flats and houses across six wards – Cheetham, Crumpsall, Harpurhey, Longsight, Miles Platting and Newton Heath and Moss Side – will now require a landlord licence.

This builds on a programme launched in 2017, which has seen 3,550 homes being licensed and eliminating 1,700 hazards.

The council says it has pinpointed these areas due to persistent problems with property conditions and waste-related antisocial behaviour.

Minority of landlords

The council’s executive member for housing and development, Councillor Gavin White, said: “We know that there are currently fewer regulations and therefore less protection against poor housing in the private sector than other forms of rental homes – such as social rent properties.

“This means that there’s a minority of landlords who we have found do not take the responsibility for their property, the safety of their tenants, nor the impact of their property on the wider community seriously enough.

“This is by no means every landlord and most work hard to make sure the properties they let are safe and of a good standard.”

He added: “But selective licensing is one of the ways we can hold landlords that don’t to account and drive-up standards for our residents.”

New landlord licensing scheme

Meanwhile, Gateshead Council has greenlit a new landlord licensing scheme affecting 5,391 homes, rolled out in two phases.

Starting on 1 June, licences will be mandatory in central Gateshead, Birtley, Chopwell and High Fell, alongside small, shared houses of three or four occupants in existing zones.

From 1 October, the scheme extends to Felling and Swalwell.

In 2007, Gateshead was one of the first councils to adopt selective licensing which is now expanding to address deprivation, crime and poor housing.

Selective landlord licensing

Councillor Chris Buckley, Gateshead’s cabinet member for Housing, said: “Selective landlord licensing makes sure that tenants are aware of the standards they should expect, and that landlords understand their responsibilities.

“The overarching goal is to foster strong, healthy, and vibrant neighbourhoods in Gateshead.

“While many landlords in Gateshead provide good, safe accommodation, there are some that take advantage of tenants, forcing them to live in sub-standard conditions, subjecting them to harassment, or the threat of illegal eviction.”

He adds: “These licensing arrangements will help us raise standards by holding these landlords accountable, and we will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those who fail to comply with the conditions of their licence.”