Liverpool’s blanket licensing scheme of all private rental properties which comes into force today has been slammed as nothing more than a “vanity project”.

It is the largest licensing scheme so far, affecting some 50,000 properties.

However, Newham Council in London, which pioneered blanket licensing of the 35,000 properties on its patch, has criticised new powers that will give the Government the right to veto such schemes in future.

From today, any council wanting to introduce a licensing scheme covering more than 20% of its geographical area, or more than 20% of its private rented home stock, will have to obtain specific permission from CLG.

The Residential Landlords Association said, as Liverpool’s scheme goes live, that it will not protect tenants from crooked landlords or agents.

Alan Ward, chairman of the RLA, said: “Liverpool’s licensing scheme is a populist vanity project that will do little to improve standards.

“The crooks won’t come forward, tenants will shoulder the cost of the scheme in higher rents, and the council will not be able to enforce its own measures.

“Many of the standards which landlords will be expected to meet are already legal requirements. It is disingenuous to suggest they are somehow new.”

The Liverpool scheme covers 23% of all households in the city. While this proportion is above the 20% set by CLG, the scheme has gone ahead because it was agreed before the latest clampdown.

The RLA wants councils to use powers already available to them, and has also suggested a change on Council Tax forms which would allow identification of rental properties and landlords. This simple measure, says the RLA, would enable easier policing of the private rented sector.

Meanwhile, Newham said that since its licensing scheme launched, over two dozen landlords have failed the “fit and proper” test, while 1,000 are on special monitoring licences.

The council has also taken 472 prosecutions against private landlords, with the highest fine so far of £30,000.

Newham mayor Sir Robin Wales said: “Local authorities and residents are in the best position to determine whether a property licensing scheme is needed for their area, not Whitehall. Strong evidence is already required to introduce borough-wide licensing, so this is redundant legislation, creating more hoops for local authorities to jump through.

“Good landlords have nothing to fear from private rented sector licensing. Our focus has always been ensuring tenants are living in safe conditions, that they are secure in their legal rights, and the borough’s streets are not blighted with anti-social behaviour.”

Meanwhile, Croydon Council has said it will press ahead with its own blanket licensing scheme, despite today’s crackdown.