Landlord association challenges council’s selective licensing scheme
7 months ago | 1 comments
Landlord hits out at not user-friendly selective licensing application process
12:01 AM, 13th August 2026, 3 weeks ago
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A landlord has slammed a council’s selective licensing application process as “not fit for purpose”.
Paul Cunningham, chair of the Eastern Landlords Association (ELA), told Property118 that the software used to apply for Great Yarmouth Council’s selective licensing scheme is “not user-friendly”, adding to a growing sense of frustration among landlords in the area.
The council told Property118 they want to work collaboratively with landlords on selective licensing.
Council are in denial
The council’s selective licensing application process is being managed by HomeSafe, its delivery partner. However, Mr Cunningham says the system has been plagued by problems, with council officials allegedly dismissing concerns raised by landlords.
Speaking to Property118 following a meeting with council officials last week, Mr Cunningham said: “The council decided to instigate selective licensing again, despite the fact that the first scheme failed miserably in 2019. Now they are going ahead with it again in 2026.
“This time around, they decided to use HomeSafe to process the applications. All applicants have to upload copies of their EPC, electrical safety certificates and gas safety certificates.
“It soon became apparent that the software was not fit for purpose. Both HomeSafe and the council appeared to be in denial about the difficulties landlords were experiencing”.
At the meeting, Mr Cunningham asked the more than 50 attendees to raise their hands if they had experienced difficulties with the application process. He said every person in the room raised their hand.
He added: “The people affected are landlords who are simply trying to comply with the process, but frustration is growing because the system is not user-friendly.”
Help and support landlords
When approached by Property118 for comment, the council said they understood landlord concerns around the application process and would support them.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth council said: “We recognise that some landlords have found elements of the online application process challenging and we welcome feedback from users as the scheme continues to be implemented.
“The online licensing system delivered by Home Safe provides a robust, tried and tested platform for administering a scheme of this scale. The council has already received about 4,000 licence applications, demonstrating the system is functioning effectively and is successfully processing a significant volume of applications.
“While there have been no wider issues identified with the system itself, we recognise that some landlords have experienced individual difficulties or required additional support when completing their applications. Where specific issues have been raised, these have been investigated and addressed on a case-by-case basis by the council and Home Safe to ensure landlords receive the assistance they need.
“We remain committed to supporting landlords throughout the application process. Alongside written guidance and direct assistance, the council has arranged drop-in support sessions where landlords received help with IT-related matters and in completing their applications. These sessions offered an opportunity for landlords to access one-to-one support, ask questions and ensure they are able to submit applications successfully.”
The spokesperson adds: “Council officers have also met directly with representatives from local landlord associations to listen to feedback, answer questions and better understand any concerns. This ongoing engagement is an important part of ensuring the scheme operates effectively and that landlords are supported in meeting their legal responsibilities.
“Selective licensing is an important tool in improving housing standards, raising management standards across the private rented sector and ensuring a level playing field for responsible landlords. We will continue to work collaboratively with landlords and our delivery partner to ensure the scheme is accessible, effective and achieves positive outcomes for tenants and communities across the borough.”
Tags:
Eastern Landlords Association, Homesafe, Selective Licensing, selective licensing application, selective licensing Great Yarmouth
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Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3296 - Articles: 81
10:20 AM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Everything is getting worse & worse.
Nottingham Council website was awful when Licensing bought in. It is better now, but still had problems.
These authorities & Govt & Councils & Tax etc. are chipping away at us Landladies & Landlords & it’s just an extra thing that We say That’s it had enough, tenant is great but I can’t cope any more, only keeping house for tenant. I can get twice as much in Investments if I didn’t have the house & u want to torture me as well? You can get fxxked.
Member Since May 2017 - Comments: 821
12:26 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
I asked the council to send me the final council tax bill for a rental property to my home address as the property had been sold. Six months later they were about to issue a summons for non payment. They’d been sending it to the sold address (id told them twice previously). I have plenty more stories like this. They are useless, they waste so much of their time and my time. If they were a company they’d have gone bankrupt ages ago
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 510 - Articles: 1
12:45 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 13/08/2026 – 12:26
I completely agree.
Lewisham had to be educated by me that an EPC does not have to be done every ten years, only when there is a new tenancy and ten years have passed.
Completely useless.
And why does Southwark require a floor plan for non HMO selective license applications?
Mostly useless.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3713 - Articles: 5
3:08 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
when council see SL – al they see is £’s in front of their eyes. They also just pick an off the shelf database as pushed by the sub contractor they put this out to (cost irrelevant as being paid for by SL).
Once council i know just had the same system as another council, never checking if this actually worked properly in the first place. (clearly it didn’t)
The priority for councils is minimal input from them, maximum hassle from the ‘customer’ with the added bonus of the ‘customer’ is also paying for it.
Keeps idiots in jobs and justifies the councils existence. Fits the narrative that all PRS LL are rogue and they have to be kept an eye on…. this coming from councils who house tenants themselves in unsafe properties on a consistent basis and have had the SHO tell them so.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3713 - Articles: 5
3:13 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by David Lawrenson at 13/08/2026 – 12:45
because that is what the off the shelf package they picked says…..floorplans not a legal necessity in non HMO’s. Push back and ask why. It makes it clear the package they bought and are using is not fit for purpose.
I am going to raise a FOI to ask with the package picked, what are the metrics they measure from this, what they are intended to show and why and how is this relevant to the reason why they asked the SoS to agree to allow them to have SL in the first place.
Waste their time – you are paying for it anyway…..
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3296 - Articles: 81
3:28 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 13/08/2026 – 12:26
And it’s giving us Mental Health Problems. And they getting thicker. Think they always right cause work for the Council. I reckon 20%+ of my time is on companies messing up nowadays.
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3296 - Articles: 81
3:29 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by David Lawrenson at 13/08/2026 – 12:45
Yes we got Nottingham to drop the floor plans for normal houses. Ridiculous, putting thousands onto the cost & we just up the rent losing sympathy with the tenant.
Member Since January 2015 - Comments: 61
5:40 PM, 13th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Surely there should be consistency over the whole of the UK for whether properties should be licensed or not and what type is required? It should not depend upon the local council whether you need licences or not, how much that licence is going to actually cost, and the requirements necessary to obtain said licence.
Taking aside HMOs, Westminster council don’t have selective licensing so a landlord is not hamstrung and bankrupted to rent their property out there. Wandsworth where mine are, on the other hand, has turned down one of my flats which used to be rented to 3 sharers on a single tenancy because the third bedroom (the one with the ensuite) is 20cm2 too small in their opinion and because the fire safety assessment of the flat (the flat -not the building) failed because I hadn’t been keeping a log showing I was undertaking a monthly fire drill. A house with no ‘portable’ electrical appliances aside from a standalone fridge freezer had to have a PAT test to get a licence – £60 lighter in the wallet when this is not a legal requirement in a rental property but the council insist on it anyway, Were my properties in Westminster, none of this would apply.
The government has introduced eye-watering standardised fines to catch landlords out, – which is far more likely to occur where there is licensing but not where there isn’t – so surely the requirements could be standardised as well?
It beggars belief for me that when we have such a housing crisis, good landlords are being treated as the cash cow for their local council whilst bad landlords continue to remain under the radar.
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 510 - Articles: 1
6:06 AM, 14th August 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 13/08/2026 – 15:13
Also, worth putting in something deliberately wrong in application too… that means you have applied, but gets you thrown to the back for a query, which means you won’t have to pay till later.