A group which represents Nottingham landlords has
said a rise of more than 50% in licence fees is unjustified.
The city
council is increasing the cost of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licences
from £640 to £980 a year.
East
Midlands Property Owners (EMPO) claimed the move was unfair at a time of
economic hardship.
But the
authority said there had not been a rise in five years and the money would go
towards keeping rented property standards up.
'Policing' cost
A house
needs a HMO licence if three or more storeys are rented to five or more people
in two or more households, but which are not buildings converted solely into
self-contained flats.
Giles
Inman, from EMPO, said: "Our landlord membership are not very happy with
this as it represents over a 50% increase in licensing fees.
"We
can't really see any justification for such a huge increase, especially when
you consider how the economy is right now."
But city
councillor Dave Liversidge insisted the rise could be justified and said:
"It might seem a big rise but it is the first time we have done it for
about five years.
"The
reality is that this money is used to make sure the private rented sector is a
sector that people want to live in, so we need to police it to make sure we get
good quality private sector properties."
The
increase comes into force from 25 March.
