Agenda item

[Report of the Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods. To be introduced  by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

Report to recommend that Cabinet designate a borough wide licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and a smaller selective licensing scheme in 29 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) for non HMO property. The report will also be recommending outlining the proposals for selective Licensing for non-HMO property.

 The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which sought Cabinet to designate a borough wide licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and a smaller selective licensing scheme in 29 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) for non HMO properties.

The Cabinet Member noted current estimates were that some 33% of households in Haringey were privately rented (equating to 35,000) exceeding by 14% the national average of 19%. Between 2001 and 2011, Haringey’s private rented sector had grown by 45.6%, an upward trend which was likely to continue given the huge need and the current lack of affordable public sector housing. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) were a significant component of the private rented sector and provided accommodation for a wide range of individuals and families. It was vital that those properties were well and effectively regulated, to ensure they were safe and compliant with environmental and other regulations. The landlord licensing scheme proposed in the report provided the regulatory framework to support the many good landlords in Haringey, whilst also providing the powers for officers to tackle the rogue landlords who did not comply.

The Cabinet Member advised that the scheme would also enable the Council to know who owned and managed those properties through the issuing of licenses to operate. The additional (HMO) scheme had been developed following wide research, evidence gathering and public consultation.

Following questions from Cllr Dennison, the following was noted:

• A dedicated officer dealt with empty properties in the private rented sector. It was encouraged that a relationship be built with empty homeowners and advice and guidance provided to them on bringing homes back into use before any enforcement action was taken.
• The use of Empty Dwelling Management Orders was an expensive process and counter cost effective for the Council to pursue.
• The Council did not have grants in this area but could explore schemes that financially assisted individuals into bringing empty properties back into usage that could then be provided for temporary accommodation for homelessness families, as had been done previously by the Council.

RESOLVED

1. To consider the consultation results and representations received in response to the consultation on the Additional HMO Licensing Scheme. (Appendix 4).

2. To designate pursuant to s56 (1) (a) of the Housing Act 2004 the whole area of the Borough as subject to additional licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMO’s) as set out in the draft designation at Appendix 1, the designation to be cited as the “London Borough of Haringey Designation for an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation, No 3, 2019” coming into force on 27 May 2019. (Appendix 1).

3. To approve the scale of fees and charges (Appendix 5).

4. To delegate to the Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods in consultation with the lead Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal, the authority to agree minor changes to the proposed implementation and delivery, including administration, fees and conditions and give all necessary statutory notifications.

5. To approve the policy on determining the appropriate level of civil penalty for offences under the Housing Act 2004 set out at Appendix 6.

Reasons for decision

Additional HMO Licensing has been piloted in our borough previously. In 2011 a scheme was designated within the Harringay ward and ran for 5 years and we currently have a small scheme within five wards in Tottenham.

The outcomes of these schemes provide our greatest evidence base that licensing improves the standard of accommodation for tenants, provides a register of responsible parties and has enabled the Council to adopt a multiagency approach to tackle issues arising from poorly managed HMO property.

With an expanding Private Rented Sector, HMOs are likely to be growing in demand as it offers an affordable accommodation option for many tenants. Rolling out Additional HMO Licensing borough wide will allow the Council to require standards to be met across all HMOs, will give us greater intelligence on our private rental sector and provide details of who is responsible for those property.

Public Consultation identified that tenants and the public are in favour of having licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation and provided feedback on how this can be targeted to provide them with the greatest support.

In contrast we know that landlords are not in favour of such schemes and see the implementation as a money making initiative for the Council. The licence fee is a cost associated with the administration of the licence applications and compliance process. The Housing Act 2004 allows a fee to be set that is reasonable and transparent. The License fee income is to be used for running of the licensing project and should be set at an amount which is reflective of this.

It is important to prove to compliant landlords and the public that we are pursuing those landlords who remain non complaint. Taking appropriate enforcement action and publicising these outcomes to promote the schemes successes is essential. The use of civil penalties is an alternative to prosecution and provides an additional enforcement tool for officers when deciding what penalty is appropriate for the offence committed.

It is necessary for Cabinet to agree licensing proposals under the Housing Act 2004. Approval is therefore sought for the designation of a borough wide Additional Licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation.

Cabinet are required to agree and approve the use of civil financial penalties and all otherenforcement powers under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and to delegate these powers to authorised officers. (Appendix 6)

Alternative options considered

Do nothing and continue with existing legal powers –

Existing powers available to the Council are largely reactive with officers responding to tenants’ complaints. Many tenants are reluctant to complain through fear of retaliatory eviction. Although current enforcement activity has been successful in remedying problems in individual dwellings, it is not felt to have raised the standard of private sector dwellings generally and at the scale now required.

Voluntary Accreditation –

Although the voluntary accreditation scheme is helpful in driving up standards, take up is generally poor and is likely to be used by self-selecting professional landlords rather than rogue landlords

More detail regarding other courses of action already used by the Council appears below at paragraphs 7.3 and within Appendix 2.