Last year the London Borough of Newham became the first
English Council to introduce a mandatory licensing scheme for all landlords in
their area. At the time NetRent predicted that other councils would follow
their lead. Liverpool is the first Council to announce their plans. They will
not be the last.
Scotland has had mandatory licensing for all landlords for
several years. However the success of this scheme has recently been seriously questioned
by the Scottish Conservatives who calculated that identifying each rogue
landlord has cost £410,000. They also claim that just running the registration
website costs £300,000 a year.
This is the type of scheme Labour leader Ed Miliband wants
to see rolled out in England and both the Welsh Government and the Northern
Ireland Assembly say they want to follow suit. Meanwhile it seems clear that
English Councils will introduce their own licensing schemes.
There is no doubt that Councils can generate significant
income from Landlord Licensing, although they and the Scottish Government claim
that this is not the reason for introducing such a scheme. They claim that
mandatory licensing helps them identify and deal with rogue landlords.
The reality is that good landlords will be forced to pay to
police bad landlords.
Click here for more information about the proposals by Liverpool City Council
Please note that Liverpool CC have informed us that the consultation has not started yet.
Please note that Liverpool CC have informed us that the consultation has not started yet.
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