A local authority has decided not to go to the Court of Appeal to try and get a legal decision on its Newham-style blanket licensing proposals overturned, despite winning the right to appeal.

Last year, a private landlord with just one property, Constantinos Regas, took Enfield Council in London to judicial review.

Enfield had already decided to implement borough-wide selective and additional licensing schemes.

The schemes had been due to be introduced in April this year.

However, Regas won his case, with Judge McKenna ruling that the schemes were not lawfully designated.

The council was refused leave of appeal by the High Court, but then successfully petitioned the Court of Appeal directly for permission to appeal.

While this has now been granted, Enfield has decided not to go ahead.

Enfield Council’s cabinet member for housing and housing regeneration, Cllr Ahmet Oykener, said: “We have been granted permission by the court to appeal the decision on the landlord licensing scheme in Court but the Government has, since we began this process, changed the law on licensing.

“As a result, even though our advice is that we have a good prospect of success in the courts, we will be faced with difficulty in implementing the present selective licensing scheme because of changes in the law relating to the conditions and general approval for introducing selective licensing.

“In effect the goalposts have moved. We also want to revisit the case for additional licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation.”

Meanwhile, two other London councils are to set to launch their own additional licensing schemes.

Lewisham wants to license flats above commercial premises and thinks its scheme would take in about 1,800 properties and 4,200 tenancies.

Barnet wants to introduce licensing of all HMOs of two or more storeys containing four or more people, flats in multiple occupation that are on the second floor or higher, and some other HMOs.

It wants to charge £989 for a five-year licence. Landlords would have to sign up early to the scheme, because any who did not apply for licences within the first three months would be issued a one-year licence costing £643.

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