Landlords in the London borough of Brent will soon be required to have a selective licence in a bid to drive up living standards for renters.
The government approved the scheme — which is set to go live in Spring 2024 — but will exclude the Wembley Park area, as it is the only ward where the number of disrepairs in private rentals does not meet the critical threshold set by the government.
This year, Brent Council issued its first banning order against a landlord which prohibits them from renting out a house in England for the next five years, and also delivered a £485,000 fine to another who had used a fake name to let out a “large shed” as five flats.
The government has also given Lewisham the go ahead to be implemented for area landlords in a bid to improve the quality and management of private rented accommodation.
Cllr Promise Knight, a cabinet member for housing, homelessness and renters’ security at Brent County Council, described the move as “a major win for both renters and landlords”.
“At a time when housing is at a crisis point across London, the introduction of selective licencing across Brent, with the exception of Wembley Park, will offer renters the assurance of security and safety when it comes their home.
“Brent will continue to work in partnership with good professional landlords, but has a zero-tolerance approach towards rogue landlords; any rogue landlords in Brent should be on notice that this expansion means that there will be nowhere in Brent for them to hide.”
While the introduction of the scheme has been described as a way to combat rogue landlords in the borough of Brent, BTL Insider asked industry professionals whether this sort of plan will work or present a further challenge to landlords trying to operate within the PRS.
Narinder Gill, associate at Coreco, commented: “Selective licencing schemes go a long way in ensuring the PRS has good quality landlords and properties — while some rogue landlords might be obverse to these types of changes, it will greatly maintain better quality of properties for tenants and should be welcomed.
“It should not seen as another hurdle, but more so a quality measure ensuring that landlords are fit and proper.”
Wendy Docherty, director at SPF Private Clients, added: “This scheme should raise standards as more checks will be put in place by the council but, for the good landlords, it will be another cost incurred in what is already a challenging market.
“It’s unlikely to make a difference to lenders as they already offer better products for ‘green’ properties with an EPC rating of C or above — they don't request to see licences unless the property is a registered HMO, so I can't see any benefit in this.”
Marylen Edwards, head of BTL lending at MT Finance, said: “It will not completely rid the area of landlords who do not comply with rental protocol/procedures, but it will give better control and therefore help mitigate ongoing problems.
“The wider market has already seen these changes implemented or discussed, so this should not come as too much of a surprise.
“These are local authority requirements, and lenders have to condition accordingly for these licences depending on purchase/remortgage, subject to valuers’ comments like they would an HMO.
“Lenders could not lend without the licence if required and would not necessarily provide better rates, as it is a necessity to lend — furthermore, to offer better rates would not comply with TCF where there are fit and proper landlords in boroughs that don’t yet apply the selective licences who would be discriminated against.
