Your July local licensing update
In our licensing blog this month, we round up active licensing consultations that we would encourage private landlords to respond to as well as schemes coming into force in the future.
Active consultations:
In terms of current consultations for landlords to respond to, there are several in London that are live at present. You can read details of the proposals below.
London Borough of Enfield (Closes Monday 7th October)
The London Borough of Enfield has launched a consultation to renew their current borough-wide additional licensing consultation which covers small HMOs in the borough.
In 2020, the council introduced the current scheme with the aim of improving property conditions, management and safety standards. This designation covers HMOs which fall outside of the remit of national mandatory licensing.
The current scheme is due to end in August 2025, and Enfield council wants to hear from as many interested parties as possible about what they think about the current scheme, the proposed scheme and the impact of the scheme on local tenant and landlord population within the borough.
If the new scheme is approved, it will come into force in September 2025.
To respond to the consultation, and to find out more information about the council’s plans, the consultation documents and online questionnaire can be found on the council’s website here.
London Borough of Wandsworth (Closes Monday 14th October).
The London Borough of Wandsworth has launched a consultation to introduce a selective licensing scheme and a borough wide additional licensing scheme across the whole of Wandsworth.
The selective licensing scheme if approved would cover seven wards and be introduced in two phases from Spring 2025. The basis of introducing the scheme the council states is to address poor property conditions.
The additional licensing scheme would apply to small HMOs that do not fall under the national mandatory licensing scheme with the aim according to the council to drive up standards, ensure safer and better managed HMO accommodation.
To respond to the consultation and to find out further information about the plans, the consultation documents and online survey can be found on the council’s website: https://haveyoursay.citizenspace.com/wandsworthecs/ahsl24/
Schemes coming into force:
A new selective licensing scheme started in Lewisham on 1 July.
Looking ahead, several local licensing schemes are set to come into force over the next few months.
Northumberland County Council
Following a consultation which took place last year, Northumberland County council have now approved a selective licensing scheme which is due to come into force on Monday 14th October 2024 and last for a period of five years.
The designation applies to each street within the Croft ward of Blyth, bounded by and including Hodgsons Road to the north, Waterloo Bridge/bridge Street to the south, Regent Street to the east and Renwick Road to the west.
The licence fee for a standard licence is £650 and £495 if the licence holder is apart of the council’s accreditation scheme.
Licence holders will be able to apply for a licence from Monday 16th September.
For further information about the scheme and to contact the council directly about the designation, the council can be reached via their website: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Housing/Landlords.aspx email [email protected] or by telephone: 07736623776 or 07966330748
London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest has recently approved the implementation of a borough-wide additional licensing scheme which is due to come into force from 1st April 2025 and end on 31st March 2030.
This scheme will apply to small HMOs in the borough who do not fall under mandatory licensing. Further information will be released by the council in due course on the designation and how to apply.
For further information on the designation, the department overseeing the additional licensing scheme can be breach by either telephone: 0208 496 4949 or by email: [email protected]
Find out more about licensing
The NRLA aims to respond to all property licensing consultations, and members can learn more about effectively responding to consultations themselves in our free Licensing Toolkit.
The best way to keep up to date with licensing news, including information on new schemes and consultations, is by signing up to NRLA Licensing Support, a free member benefit, powered by our partner, Kamma Data.
Using Kamma, you can keep up to date with licensing regulations for up to 16 properties.
