Landlord licensing will mean monthly property visits

A lettings organisation claims that a council licensing scheme in London will mean compulsory monthly visits to properties being let out.

Harrow council's selective licensing will require landlords or agents in Edgware to make monthly inspections of tenants' homes when the scheme is introduced on November 1. 

Specifically, it outlines that both landlords and tenants will have to allow council representatives to make compliance checks with just 24 hours' notice.

The council's licensing conditions states that agents or landlords are also responsible for ensuring that external areas are maintained "in a reasonable state of cleanliness, including removing any bulky or non-domestic items of waste."

The National Landlords' Association says that in addition to the extra burden on landlords and agents, the visits may make tenants feel harassed.

"The council has the powers it needs to deal with anti-social behaviour ... but instead of allocating funding for enforcement they've passed the buck by putting the responsibility on to landlords" explains Gavin Dick of the NLA.

"Monthly checks are simply unnecessary and could be considered as breaking a tenant's 'right to quiet enjoyment'. It's not for the landlord to decide who can have access to their tenant's home and when; neither is it their responsibility to remove household waste, domestic or otherwise" he says.