Agenda item

To receive an update on the recommendations arising from a previous Scrutiny Review on Landlord Licensing.

The Panel received an update on a previous Scrutiny Review that the Panel undertook on Landlord Licensing in the Private Rented Sector (PRS). The recommendations from which were considered by Cabinet in March 2024. The report consisted of a cover report, the original Scrutiny Review report and a table which provided an update on the implementation of the recommendations from the Review. The report was introduced by Cllr Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning and Gavin Douglas, Head of Regulatory Services as set out in the agenda pack at pages 49-86. Lyn Seller, Private Sector Housing Team Manager was also present for this item. The following arose as part of this discussion of this item:

1. Cllr Williams commented that the introduction of the Renters Reform Bill would have a big impact on the housing in PRS and the organisation’s responsibility as the local housing authority. The Bill proposed a number of reforms including a ban on no fault evictions, a ban on rental bidding and a ban on paying rent in advance of more than one month.
2. Officers advised that there had been around 22k licensing applications, with around 21k licenses issued. 7k compliance inspections had been undertaken and 108 Civil Penalty Notices (CPNs) had been issued. More staff had been recruited to the team since the last update, with 39 staff in the team and paid for through the licensing fees.
3. In response to a query, officers clarified that CPN’s were not there to pay for the licensing scheme, instead the licensing fees paid for this. Income from CPNs could be used more broadly across the area of private sector housing.
4. In response to a query around why the number of fines received from CPNs had decreased slightly since the last update, Officers advised that this was a live figure and that a reduction may reflect that some of the cases may been lost on appeal. It was also noted that there was currently a significant backlog in tribunal hearings, which meant that the appeal process could take some time. Cllr Williams advised the Panel that two-thirds of local authorities had not issued any CPNs and that 108 was comparatively high.
5. The Panel questioned the likelihood of further expansion of the selective licensing scheme. In response, officers advised that the scheme was due to expire in 2027 and that work had begun to build the dataset in order to support an application for an extension. The dataset would determine whether there was scope for an expansion of the scheme. It was also noted that the Renters Reform Bill would require landlords to provide an updated dataset to the Council.
6. In relation to advocacy and Rent Repayment Orders, officers advised that there was an existing arrangement with Justice for Tenants and it was hoped that the Renters Reform Bill would strengthen the authority’s ability to adopt more formal arrangements. Current legislation limited what the licence fee income could be spent on.
7. The Panel sought clarification about the current inspection cycle. In response, officers advised that there is a requirement in law to inspect HMOs every five years. However, for the selective licensing scheme, the application to MHCLG stated that the 75% of properties would be inspected in a five year cycle.
8. In relation to 21k applications approved from 22k applications and the number of licensing applications that had been refused, officers clarified that properties were not refused a licence but that the fit and proper person nominated as the licence holder could be refused. In these circumstances, another person would be nominated as the licence holder. Officers commented that there were outstanding licenses to be processed and that there were around 490 new applications received last month, so the numbers were not static.
9. In response to a question, officers provided assurances that there were plans to increase engagement with landlords and to reinvigorate the landlords forum as well as residents forums, particularly following the introduction of the Renters Reform Bill.
10. In response to a question about apprenticeships, officers advised that there were two apprentice Environmental Health Officers in the team. In addition, the service were trying to upskill their existing staff and that a number of officers had transitioned from compliance officers to enforcement roles.

RESOLVED

Noted.