Council threatens to take control of landlord properties

Council threatens to take control of landlord properties

9:28 AM, 21st August 2023, About 9 months ago 33

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With the deadline approaching for its selective licensing scheme, a London council is threatening to take control of landlords’ property if they don’t apply in time.

Newham says its deadline to apply for a license is at the end of this month and landlords who don’t apply risk an unlimited fine for not having a mandatory license.

It adds they also face having control of their properties taken away.

The council says it will be stepping up its enforcement and inspection visits in September and will take action against any landlord with an unlicensed property.

Along with having control of their properties removed, landlords could also be facing a rent repayment order of up to 12 months’ rent to the ‘Council or their tenants’.

‘Our pioneering Selective Licensing scheme’

Carleene Lee-Phakoe, the council’s cabinet member for housing needs, homelessness and private rented sector, said: “Renters in Newham deserve to live in safe, well-managed and well-maintained homes, and that’s what our pioneering Selective Licensing scheme aims to ensure.

“I’m grateful to the majority of our landlords who have successfully applied for a license, and call on those who still need to apply to take action now.

“Our teams will be out and about in September to check for unlicensed properties, so I encourage anyone without a license to get their application in without delay.”

The last selective licensing scheme ended in February which saw 42,000 properties being licensed and 70% of these were subject to audits or visits.

The council found 2,620 licence breaches between 2018 and July this year and 387 fines of between £5,000 to £30,000 were handed out.

‘Process of taking control of properties away from landlords’

When Newham Council was approached by Property118 to explain the process of taking control of properties away from landlords it pointed us to the Shelter website.

That’s where there is an explanation of ‘Interim management orders’.

The site spells out:

‘Interim and Final Management Orders are to be used when the licensing regime fails. They allow the local authority to take over the management of a house in multiple occupation (HMO) where there is no fit and proper person available to manage it.

‘A local authority may make an Interim Management Order (IMO) to ensure that immediate steps are taken to protect the health, safety or welfare of occupiers and adjoining occupiers/owners and any other steps are taken to ensure the proper management of the house pending further action.’


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Comments

Mick Roberts

10:48 AM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Fergus Dodd at 21/08/2023 - 12:29
Wasn't Newham one of or indeed the first Council to bring in Selective Licensing? And I think figures show since, they have the most homeless & increased rents.

Nigel Inwood

11:44 AM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

I went along with SL with Hastings council for a few years on my late parents' property that I was hoping to sell. They've dropped SL now. It wasn't a great problem but was a time-wasting expense that added insult to injury in our case.

Rogue landlords? I pointed out - in lobbying councillors to support leasehold reform - that Hastings Council was the worst rogue landlord I knew of.

I wrote that because, on 999-year Council leases, it sold the £5 p.a. rents to a lawyer, then denied 'privity of contract' with its lessees...until I took it to Court. Three years' very hard work, with lasting damage, I would say, to leasehold tenure and building safety in general.

(This was not an isolated case among local authorities. From surrounding evidence, it appears that central and local government officials knew what harm they were doing but saw the black hole in council budgets as their only concern).

Stella

11:55 AM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 22/08/2023 - 10:48
Newham were the first in the country to bring in selective licensing all over the borough. This was in 2013

I dont think that it has helped the homeless situation at all.

I have 3 properties in Newham 2 of the properties I could rent to 3 sharers before 2013 which kept the rent lower for tenants.
Now with a selective licence I can only have 2 people in each property.

Mick Roberts

12:38 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Stella at 22/08/2023 - 11:55
Thanks for info.

NewYorkie

14:14 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Nigel Inwood at 22/08/2023 - 11:44
Also, ALMOs were meant to ringfence their housing grants, but councillors went after their money, meaning less for their tenants and the temptation to cut corners. Which brings us back to Grenfell!

FLICK

9:17 AM, 26th August 2023, About 9 months ago

The lunatics have taken over the asylum!

Suzy Clarke

9:24 AM, 26th August 2023, About 9 months ago

There is someone on these blogs who appears to be a council shill...He/she is best ignored as much as I believe everyone has a right to an opinion. This person appears to be very obtuse in that 'authoritative' compliant communist way. An 'insider' in Nottingham City Council claims this is a pure money grab and has nothing to do with the well being of tenants. Maybe they can 'create' legislation to steal properties but it is unlawful. These people are too scared to go where the real rogue landlords operate and they continue with impunity...

Mick Roberts

10:55 AM, 26th August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Suzy Clarke at 26/08/2023 - 09:24
Yes, Nottingham Council got in over £20 million, created 76 jobs it did improve some houses.
However, more houses got worse from it cause Landlord less funds now as Licensing had £890 to check your boiler service by the time they read it, it was out of date.
And we all know what it's like in Nottingham now, Licensing created rent increases & low earning tenants can't move any more.

This was the conditions on the last scheme which many of my tenants couldn't comply with AFTER the council has GAVE me the tenants over 26 years & said Mick, we know she won't mow the garden & that, but we here for u on the phone:

Most of u r very good. But are u perfect? Read Licensing conditions and tell yourself:
1. Could u comply with all them.
2. Would u take any tenant on that wasn't the most prim proper person ever?
3. If u was a landlord getting older, would u want to be dealing with that for EVERY house EVERY tenant?
4. Could u be doing with giving out 200 pages to each tenant each house.
5. Would u take a Benefit tenant on after being told u had to comply with them conditions?
Selective Licensing conditions Feb 2022
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sD_HRl57ANNw4PBAb-FGRU7h-0Qby9Vm5xLioH_nA7c/edit?usp=sharing

moneymanager

11:03 AM, 26th August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 21/08/2023 - 17:45
That happens to me too and not only here; I heard the CEO of X yesterday going on about "Freedom of speech but not reach", in other words YOU can post (on Twitter) but nobody will see it.

Suzy Clarke

11:50 AM, 26th August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 26/08/2023 - 10:55
And that's why I sold ALL my properties in Nottingham 3 years ago...they make ordinary landlords feel like criminals. Guilty until proven innocent....! Oooh I think that is fascist...?

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