Council sparks confusion by processing selective licences after scheme end date

A local authority continued to process selective licence applications despite the scheme ending months before.

London Property Licensing flagged an error to Hackney Council about the licensing scheme end date on their website, which showed 30 October 2023.

The council admitted the mistake, stating the schemes actually ended on 30 September 2023, but continued issuing licences until March this year, five months after the schemes had ended.

Considerable confusion for landlords

Under parts two and three of the Housing Act 2004, councils can set up additional and selective licensing schemes for certain private rented homes. These schemes have been around since 2006 and can last up to five years.

Hackney Council’s licensing scheme ended on 30 September 2023. According to the Act, once the scheme ends, it no longer applies, and licences can only be granted or refused if the property still needs to be licensed.

Richard Tacagni, managing director, of London Property Licensing says he’s never seen a council apply the legislation in this way before.

He said: “For Hackney Council to continue processing additional and selective licence applications months after their schemes ended is highly unusual. In fact, I would go as far to say I have never seen a local authority interpret and apply the legislation in this way.

“When licences are granted in 2024 and expire in 2029 for a scheme that ended in 2023, something has gone seriously wrong. The whole situation is causing considerable confusion to landlords and agents who are unsure what’s happening.

“Questions also remain about whether licensing fees can be retained by the council if the processing and approval of the licence did not start until after the schemes ended.”

Hackney Council breached Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act

London Property Licensing submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Hackney council asking how many licence applications remained outstanding when both licensing schemes ended and how many licences had been approved since that date.

However, apart from an automated acknowledgement, no reply was received within 20 days and all subsequent reminders went unanswered.

With no response, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a decision notice stating that Hackney Council had breached section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond.

The ICO has given Hackney Council 30 working days from 16th July to respond to the FOI request, lodge an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal or risk the ICO referring the matter to the High Court.

To date, the FOI response remains outstanding and Hackney council has not responded to comments regarding selective licensing.