Property licensing is complex, inconsistent and ever changing. Keeping on top of all the changes requires a sophisticated platform that can cleanse, analyse and sort data and interpret the results to help agents, landlords and surveyors interpret the data and stay compliant.
This month in property licensing brought more hefty fines, London’s first banning order on a rogue landlord, ideas on improving the private rented sector, and new funds to tackle rogue landlords across the country.
November’s Top Three Unlicensed Properties and Rogue Landlords
A Yorkshire landlord, Jack Collins, was hit with a fine of £25,324.60 after he continued to rent out a property which was not properly maintained according to PRS law. His property in Beeston on Sefton Terrace had gotten three different fines in the past, and his fourth nearly doubled his total charges to just under £60,000. The property in question falls under Yorkshire’s selective licensing area. Many locals are calling for a banning order, as his rogue behavior is an obvious pattern which has not stopped him so far.
A London landlord, Cesar de Sousa Melo, used to rent properties near King’s Cross, but has recently been hit with London’s first banning order on a rogue landlord. He has been investigated by the local councils, the Greater London Authority, and has been added to the rogue landlord database on the Mayor of London’s website. Melo had three main properties, all of which had similar issues. He was fined over £29,000 for his three properties, which had issues such as illegally subletting, lack of fire safety equipment.
His banning order begins in March, and if he is found breaking this order again, he could face up to 51 weeks in prison, alongside another £30k financial penalty.
A Scarborough Landlord, the director of ASR Estates (UK) Limited, was fined £35,000 for failing to comply with the Selective Licensing Scheme in the borough. On 26 November, Mr. Raja plead guilty to five charges, including failing to notify the Selective Licensing Team of new tenants, failure to maintain the property, and failure to maintain the fire detection system. The case had been previously dismissed, but the Scarborough Council continued pursuit, and Housing Manager Andrew Rowe said “We are committed to protecting the interests of tenants and the local community and we will not hesitate to prosecute any landlord that chooses to disregard the terms of the licence.”
Total top three story fines reported in trade press for November: £89,324.60
£4mil influx of cash to stop rogue landlords across the country
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has dedicated £4 million to distribute to councils across the country who need more funds to improve their enforcement against rogue landlords. This goes back to raising standards of the sector as a whole, providing the best HMOs and rental properties the UK can offer, and tackling rogue landlords while still supporting the landlords that have been doing the right thing since the beginning.
Jenrick said, “Everyone deserves to live in a home that is safe and secure, and the funding will help to further strengthen councils’ powers to crack down on criminal landlords and drive up standards. We have given local authorities strong powers to force landlords to make necessary improvements to a property. They can use measures including fines and banning orders, to tackle criminal landlords.” These words echo the sentiment of many parties when it comes to the PRS and what we can do to continue to improve conditions, organisation, and the letting sector as a whole.
Streamlining licensing and bettering the PRS
With the December 12th general election fast approaching, there are groups across the country which are having their say on many topics, but it is reported that some trade groups have “requested to scrap licensing”. Safeagent has come out with their own manifesto as a response to the different parties putting out their view on housing, and it has a better, more realistic standpoint. Instead of scrapping licensing, the Safeagent scheme proposed that the system needed to be streamlined in order to see higher standards and more positive results across the country. This new system would help councils “take a fair, accountable and robust approach to compliance.”
When asked about this manifesto, Safeagent’s CEO Isobel Thompson said the following: “If we want to ensure a safer, fairer PRS for all, the new Government must make regulation and properly funded enforcement a priority to root out the small number of rogue landlords and agents.”
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