Landlords are up in arms over a local authority’s plans to introduce a licensing scheme which will cost £1,000 per property for a five-year licence.
Furious views were expressed at a meeting organised in Croydon by the National Landlords Association.
It was attended by around 100 letting agents and landlords – but not one person from the council was present. Guest speaker was the Tory MP for Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell.
He said that a licensing scheme would make Croydon’s housing crisis worse because landlords would withdraw from the market. The fee that Croydon Council wants to charge is double that of Newham.
He also warned: “It seems to me this policy is a stealth tax. It’s going to raise about £4m, the costs will be passed on to tenants and the council hopes landlords will get the blame.”
Barwell said that the council had existing powers at its disposal to tackle rogue landlords.
He also said that the council had failed to prove its case that anti-social behaviour was related to the borough’s private rented sector, and that therefore licensing was needed.
There are estimated to be some 30,000 rental properties in Croydon, with some landlords having large portfolios, opening them up to the possibility of having to pay many thousands of pounds in order to keep operating.
Rachael Board, senior branch manager of Leaders, said she was at the meeting on behalf of over 800 clients.
She said many were unaware of the changes, but would be unhappy because rents would go up.
Meanwhile, a landlord is going ahead with his legal challenge to a licensing scheme in another London borough.
Enfield Council is due to introduce its scheme next April, but Constantinos Regas’s legal challenge is due to be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday.
Regas, who has just one rental property, was initially unrepresented, but has now instructed solicitor Alex Peebles of Irwin Mitchell and barrister Richard Clayton QC.
The challenge is on the grounds of unreasonableness, unlawfulness and a contravention of European law.
Enfield will charge £500 per property for five years. Its licence conditions will prohibit tenants from parking commercial vehicles off the street.
Regas is hoping landlords and agents will crowdfund his case by contributing £50 per property. More about this here:
Comments (4)
Errrr…..What kind of maths do they use in Croydon? If there are 30,000 rental properties in the borough but licensing at £1000 will raise £4m does that mean that they are happy to license about one house in 7 or 8? In Oxford, the initial scheme offered a five year license, but when they started coming up for renewal there was nothing left in the pot to administer them. The city could not manage their budgets so had to revert annual renewals.
"What kind of maths do they use in Croydon?" Local authority maths that’s what – which makes little sense if I'm honest. Is it any wonder budgets are all to pot? 30,000 properties @ £1,000 per property works out at £30,000,000 A YEAR. Conversely £4,000,000 works out at just £133.33 per property. Let’s be blunt, there is no way on earth it will cost £30,000,000 a year to administer.
Is it not £1,000 per property per five years? Making it £6m / year revenue? Therefore the £4m figure might make more sense. Still needs to be stopped as the damage this will cause is unfathomable!
"but not one person from the council was present". Such contempt!