Petition to Parliament wants review of city's selective licensing

A petition has appeared on the government’s e-petition website calling for a review of a city council’s newly-introduced selective licensing system.

Nottingham city council has introduced the scheme - already extensively publicised but not taking effect until August 1 - which one lettings agency in the area says will affect some 94 per cent of landlords.

Anyone who owns a privately rented home in 18 designated Nottingham areas will need to apply for a licence - the only exception is for those properties which already have an HMO licence.

The council is charging £780 for a five-year licence, and will need to see landlords’ (or their agents’) public liability insuance, electrical safety certificate, gas certificate, EPC, PAT certificate for portable appliances, and landlord training details.

The petition has, as of yesterday, fewer than 200 signatures. 

It reads: We call on the Government to carry out a review of Nottingham City Councils Selective Licensing Scheme.

We believe areas of Nottingham have been unfairly targeted and included in the Licensing Scheme which do not meet the government guidance conditions for Selective Licensing.

Particular areas such as the Park Estate, Mapperley Park, Wilford and the City Centre are examples of areas we believe have been wrongly included. They include modern apartment developments, affluent residential suburbs and luxury homes which do not meet any of the conditions for selective licensing.

We urge the Government to review the proposed scheme and the areas selected to ensure they do meet the Governments conditions for Selective Licensing before the scheme is allowed to commence.

You can see the petition here.