Licensing: Respond to current licensing consultations
Since the launch of our licensing toolkit last year, there have been several updates to further support members when it comes to responding to consultations.
Our licensing toolkit allows members to learn more about licensing conditions and proposals and offers useful information on responding to consultations.
The toolkit has been updated to include a list of current consultations and direct links for members to be able to respond to these.
The toolkit also includes a new downloadable resource specifically for HMO landlords. Landlords are often asked to provide a great deal of information when making a licence application, and this new resource explains in detail some of the things landlords are likely to need ahead of a HMO licence application.
Current licensing consultations
The councils currently consulting on licensing and Article 4 proposals include:
Manchester: selective licensing (closes 14th April)
Manchester City Council has launched a consultation on extending selective licensing to parts of Clayton and Openshaw, Harpurhey and Gorton and Abbey Hey. The specific areas where the council would like to run the scheme are:
- Hyde Road: Gorton and Abbey Hey ward
- The Ladders:Gorton and Abbey Hey ward
- Ben Street: Clayton and Openshaw ward
- Trinity: Harpurhey ward
Manchester City Council is running virtual drop in events for people to find out more about the scheme. The details of these events and a link to the survey to respond directly to the consultation can be read online here.
Oldham: selective licensing (closes 19th April 2021)
The licensing of private rented properties has been happening in certain areas of Oldham since 2015, and a selective licensing scheme there and has now expired. The council is consulting on plans to introduce a new selective licensing scheme in some areas of the borough. To read more about the plans, sign up to a virtual session or have your say directly in this consultation, click here.
Walsall Council-additional HMO licensing (closes 6th June 2021)
Walsall Borough Council is currently consulting on proposals to introduce an additional HMO licensing scheme in the wards of Palfrey, St Matthews, Paddock and Pleck.
As part of these proposals, the Council says the average licence will cost around £675 for a five-year period, and there will be both an ‘early bird’ discount and reduced fee for those landlords who are properly accredited. To read more about the proposals and respond directly to this consultation, click here.
Southwark-selective and additional licensing scheme (closes 28th June 2021)
Two property licensing schemes finished at the end of 2020 in Southwark, and the council has now launched a consultation on plans to introduce both a selective licensing scheme and an additional licensing scheme in the London borough.
The council is proposing a five-year selective licensing scheme, made up of four proposed designations to be implemented in, potentially, two phases.
The proposed additional HMO licensing scheme would also run for five years, and would apply to all HMOs in the borough of Southwark that are not already covered by the government’s mandatory HMO scheme.
The council is holding a virtual landlord forum on the licensing proposals, which will now be held on Tuesday 18th March 2021 between 6-7pm. To register for this, and to have your say directly in the consultation and read more about the proposals, click here.
Article 4 direction consultations
Article 4 Directives allow local authorities to restrict permitted developments in a designated area.They are often used by councils to control the number of homes being converted into HMOs in places where there is already a high concentration of that type of accommodation.
In areas where a direction is in place, landlords need to apply for planning permission to convert a dwelling into a HMO. NRLA members can understand more about Article 4 directions and how to respond to consultations on these by using our exclusive Article 4 toolkit.
Broxtowe Borough Council is consulting on plans to introduce an Article 4 direction for HMOs in parts of Beeston and Beeston Rylands. If approved, it is proposed that the direction will come into force on 26 March 2022. More information about the areas the scheme would cover and how landlords can have their say in this consultation can be read online here. Closes the end of February.
