Councils across the UK could be stopped from introducing selective licensing for landlords in the private sector.
According to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), in order for an area to allow selective licensing it has to contain a large number of private rented sector properties compared to the overall housing accommodation types available.
The DCLG has also announced proposals meaning that a local area could have to demonstrate at least one of four specific conditions, before it can consider introducing a selective licence system.
The outlined conditions seek to ensure that a licence for landlords is only introduced when necessary, to improve an area’s rental accommodation standard.
A large flow of migration to the area is one of the circumstances that a local authority can cite as a reason to implement a licence system, while another condition available to councils is if high levels of deprivation has an impact on a large number of property occupiers in their area.
The National Landlords Association (NLA) has welcomed the proposals amidst the changes at a number of UK-wide councils that are opting to introduce their own licensing schemes without providing evidence to prove they are needed.
An example is shown by the recent case of Liverpool City council, which, from next month, will require private landlords to pay over £400 in order to obtain a five year licence.