Brighton and Hove City council will discuss proposals to consult on the introduction of two new property licensing schemes at the Housing & New Homes Committee on 20th September.
The aim is to drive improvement in conditions in the city’s expanding PRS, with nearly a third of households in the city renting privately.
The council said that while many landlords run their properties responsibly, issues reported through local government show that management, standards, and quality of private rented homes aren’t consistent in the city.
If the plans are agreed, consultation will begin this autumn on introducing two property licensing schemes — a new Additional Licensing scheme for smaller HMOs with fewer households than Mandatory Licensed HMOs, and a Selective Licensing Scheme for all private rented homes in certain areas.
The five-year term of the council’s previous city-wide Additional HMO Licensing Scheme for smaller HMOs not covered by Mandatory HMO Licensing came to an end earlier this year.
This additional licensing scheme covered around 1,900 HMOs across the city and allowed the council to work closely with landlords to help improve properties.
A number of licence conditions were set through the scheme, resulting in improvements made to management, building and safety standards that benefitted around 5,500 tenants.
A Selective Licensing scheme is initially proposed in four wards where evidence demonstrates a clear link between poor property conditions, deprivation, and private rented homes.
These are Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina.
The proposal also covers the option of introducing a further Selective Licensing Scheme covering 13 wards in the city on the grounds of poor property conditions.
If approved, this would form a second phase of the scheme and would be subject to approval by the Secretary of State.
Councillor Gill Williams, chair of the Housing & New Homes Committee, said: “Private rented accommodation covers nearly a third of the city’s housing and can provide people with flexible and decent homes, but we know the quality of management and maintenance is inconsistent.
“We hear from residents about their poor experiences with landlords and uninterested letting agents, who fail to maintain their property and force tenants to live in sometimes disgusting, unhabitable conditions.
“Tenants in the private sector often live with the fear of eviction or having their deposit withheld if they raise an issue.
“We know that not all landlords behave like this, and we will work with them to improve the quality of rental accommodation.
“These proposed landlord licensing schemes will help tackle the problem of landlords who fail to manage and maintain their properties.
“We aim to raise standards in more privately rented homes in the city and help make sure that all tenants in the sector can live in safe, healthy and well-managed homes.”
