Failed licensing bid was unnecessary and unjustified, says landlords' group

A failed bid by a council to introduce a blanket landlord licensing scheme was both unnecessary and unjustified according to the National Landlords’ Association.

We reported earlier this week that Redbridge council’s bid for a borough-wide licensing scheme had been rejected by Greg Clark, Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Richard Lambert, the NLA’s chief executive, says he is reassured by the DCLG decision. 

“We support the use of landlord licensing where a strong case for its introduction can be evidenced. While there may well still be a case for licensing some parts of the borough, Mr Clark has concurred that it does not extend to all wards of Redbridge” explains Lambert.

“Redbridge Council already has extensive powers to tackle rogue landlords and should now concentrate its time and resource on targeting specific problem areas, so that the majority of law abiding landlords and residents are not faced with footing the bill for a broadbrush scheme that has ultimately been determined as unnecessary” he says.

“We trust that this decision is an indication to local authorities that they will be held to account when proposing new licensing schemes, and that only schemes that can be justified as benefitting local communities will gain approval”.

From April this year, councils planning to license a large area or proportion of the market – above 20 per cent of either the geographical area covered by the council or the local private rented sector - have had to secure government approval before implementing such a scheme. Redbridge fell at this hurdle.