Petition against ‘heavy-handed’ selective licensing schemes launched

A Parliamentary petition to challenge selective licensing rules, claiming they are being exploited by councils for generating cash has been launched by a landlord.

Simon Fletcher explains on the Portsmouth and District Private Landlords Association website that the 2015 government order, which broadened local councils’ powers to implement selective licensing, lacks proper Parliamentary oversight and is harming both landlords and tenants.

He says the order, which was introduced by Eric Pickles, should be repealed and points to its ‘heavy-handed’ application and unintended consequences.

Revoke insidious order

Mr Fletcher says: “The Selective Licensing of Houses (Additional Conditions) Order 2015, defining four more conditions that are now used by councils up and down the country to justify schemes that are, to my mind, really insidious.

“I have started a petition on the Parliament website aimed at encouraging the current secretary of state to revoke that Order.”

He added: “Across the country, we see increasing numbers of councils introducing selective licencing applicable to all houses and flats in a designated area.

“Some councils are imposing licence fees of £900 or more even for the smallest flats, such as in Havering and in North Lincolnshire.

“These schemes, especially those with higher fees, can be extremely heavy-handed, impacting on tenants’ rights as much as on landlords’ competitiveness.”

Councils overstep authority

Mr Fletcher also accuses councils of overstepping their authority by misinterpreting the 2015 Order’s intent, using licensing to generate revenue rather than improve housing quality.

He says that councils are increasingly relying on the ‘self-funding’ programmes to appear proactive while cutting core services because of budget constraints.

Also, since the licensing costs are passed on to tenants through higher rents or reduced property maintenance, the fees undermine the schemes’ goals.

He said: “This is nothing more than unfounded blind optimism that there is an opportunity to get something for nothing from a ‘self-funding’ programme, and they won’t listen to reason on the real implications.”

Landlords wanting to sign the petition can do so on the government’s website.