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0:02 AM, 3rd November 2023, About 6 months ago 5
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A frustrated landlord has criticised Nottingham’s selective licensing scheme and called it a “stealth tax on landlords”.
Nottingham City Council introduced the controversial scheme in 2018 to, it claimed, improve the quality of housing in the Private Rental Sector (PRS).
Since then, landlords across the city have grappled with the scheme’s implications.
A landlord with a property in Mapperley said he did not receive a property inspection until 12 days prior to the original 5-year licence, issued back in August 2018.
The landlord wishes to remain anonymous.
He told Property118: “The council came and inspected my property on the 19 of July 2023 – nearly five years after issuing the selective licencing scheme on the 1st of August 2018.
“When I challenged the council about it, they told me two different things – that they were overwhelmed by the number of applications, then later the second excuse was because during the pandemic they were unable to do inspections. In my opinion, it’s total poppycock seeing as the lockdown was less than three months.”
The current cost for a licence in Nottingham is £520 for the first payment (Part A) and the second payment (Part B) is £370. That’s £890 per house. Have more than one rental property and landlords are looking at a hefty outlays.
Previously, Mick Roberts one of Nottingham’s largest landlords helping benefit tenants, told Property118 that he has had zero inspections of his properties.
The Mapperley landlord argued that the council’s reputation for its housing stock provision is poor and points to the case of Jade Sharp.
Ms Sharp and her partner rented a property from Nottingham Council only to find after a few weeks that the property was riddled with leaks and mould.
Council workers visited the property on multiple occasions but didn’t act on the issues.
After four years she sought legal advice and the council finally decided to repair the issues in the property.
A Nottingham council spokesperson told Nottinghamshire Live: “We appreciate that this case has caused the Sharp family some frustration.
“The safety and wellbeing of all our tenants is important to us, and we have taken learning from this case that we will carry forward when delivering repairs services in future.
“We are upgrading our IT systems as part of wider improvements to the way we carry out repairs. This will include how we communicate with tenants about issues in their homes and that we ensure we keep customers informed of the progress.”
The Mapperley landlord told Property118 that the city’s selective licensing scheme is not fit for purpose.
He explained: “This daft scheme doesn’t smoke out unscrupulous landlords, it’s just a stealth tax on the rest of us.
“I’m starting to feel living in Nottinghamshire is something I now dislike almost as much as I reject this extremely silly money-making scheme the council are enriching themselves with.”
He added that at an earlier council meeting, the council denied it was profiteering from the selective licensing scheme.
The Mapperley landlord said: “The council told me in a recent email that they are not permitted to obtain financial gain from the scheme.
“However, when we asked at that earlier meeting in Talbot Street how many staff were on the selective licensing project – then it was 82.
“A few of us (landlords at the meeting) ran a few numbers based on average wages and came up with that roughly 90% of all the income went to pay salaries – these employees having been moved from the council’s payroll to that of Nottingham’s selective licensing’s payroll – they are profiting vastly simply via a payroll switch.”
The Mapperley landlord added he will renew his licence; however, he will be selling his rental property next year.
He told us: “I have succumbed to the bullying and told the letting agents to renew this daft licence but I will be placing the property on the market, driven to do so thanks entirely to this selective licensing scheme, which I utterly loath. I will be joining the long line of landlords exiting the sector.”
When approached by Property118, Nottingham City Council told us: “We had to make an evidence-driven case to the government over selective licensing which was firmly based on the legislation and guidance.
“This was approved by the Secretary of State to run in certain areas of Nottingham where there are poor property conditions, significant and persistent anti-social behaviour and crime, or high levels of deprivation.
“Selective licensing is not income-generating – councils are not permitted to make a profit. Licence fees solely cover the costs of setting up, operating, and delivering the scheme in the city.”
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Route Meister
14:13 PM, 3rd November 2023, About 6 months ago
The numbers have never added up. The city council are very obviously funding other unconnected jobs with income from Selective Licensing. One thing they clearly aren't spending it on is the necessary improvement of their own dilapidated housing.
Mick Roberts
9:01 AM, 4th November 2023, About 6 months ago
They tried to get as many inspections in last minute as possible. To justify getting permission off the Govt for new scheme.
I had external fence inspection about 4 years 10 months after.
And Council asked to look inside 2 of my houses about 2 months before scheme expired. Using the words
Notice of Intended Entry. I think we've got that stopped now.
My tenants told em to F-off in other words.
We still have to keep doing stuff on our houses in Lockdown din't we. For FREE. Council got paid £20 million and sat at home.
If anyone isn't aware, Nottingham Council's CURRENT bill for this year for homeless JUST IN HOTELS is £8 million. This all started cause of Selective Licensing. Granted now, other issues are at play, but Selective Licensing currently responsible for 30% of Nottinghams homeless.
Martin Hicks
9:26 AM, 4th November 2023, About 6 months ago
If indeed the Council had employed an additional 82 employees in this new venture, then it should show as a matching increase in the total payroll. Also, one might assume that the positions were mostly filled from new employees taken on following a public advertising and recruiting campaign - no doubt accompanied by very public announcements to reassure private tenants that their needs would be better dealt with in the future!
Jessie Jones
22:05 PM, 4th November 2023, About 6 months ago
It's not a stealth tax on landlords, it's a stealth tax on tenants.
It's their rent which goes up to pay for it. Even if no extra work is required to comply with the conditions which the council attach to the licence, it adds at least £15 per month for the full 5 years of the licence.
I charge this full £15 in addition to the rent I would ordinarily want, making it clear what this additional £15 is for (whilst also being careful to ensure that it is still part of the rent to comply with the Tenant Fees Act)
Mick Roberts
6:54 AM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 04/11/2023 - 22:05
Plus all the extra costs.
Cause of Licensing, all mine if when tenant leaves and I may keep house, it now goes with Letting Agent and much higher rent.
Plus we think Screw this looking after tenant, we've done good job, kept their rent low, and this is how Nottingham Council Selective Licensing treat us? Sorry, I'm charging top whack now as I need to get in as much as possible, I don't know what the Council are gonna do next. So the next house rent price is out of reach for all tenants but the well off.
Looking back pre 2018, who would have thought
What? The Council are now gonna charge us £890 for a Licence? On a house that's got new boiler new kitchen? On a tenant we charging 30% below market rent? Is the Council joking? Surely not?
We now expect the most ludicrous trumped up schemes and punitive retrospective legislation from Govt and Councils. It's become part for the course. They really hate private tenants.