Agenda item

To approve the implementation of Additional Licensing for the defined part of West Bromwich, as per the proposal approved for consultation by Cabinet on 26 June 2019.

Approval was sought to authorise the Director of Housing to implement Additional Licensing for the defined part of West Bromwich, as per the proposal approved for consultation by Cabinet on 26 June 2019 (see Minute No. 81/19).  This would ensure that Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) meet a minimum standard of management and that all other private rented property within a designated area was managed by the landlord to a satisfactory standard.

Local councils could choose to require private landlords or their managing agents to have a licence to rent out their property. The licence conditions stated that landlords must keep their property safe and well maintained as well as deal with any problems associated with the property such as dumped rubbish, untidy gardens or anti-social behaviour.

The area in West Bromwich identified had a potential 3,007 private rented properties/houses in multiple occupation that would require licensing under the 2 types of scheme.

Reason for Decision

The borough had experienced a major increase in private rented accommodation in some areas, including HMO not subject to the Mandatory Licensing Scheme.

It was recognised that some landlords and agents did not provide adequate accommodation or management of their properties. The council had implemented a range of powers and approaches to seek to address these issues, but a new approach was considered necessary to address the specific concerns relating to HMO private rented properties within the defined area of West Bromwich which had been the subject of consultation for these proposals.

Alternative Options Considered

The options considered included several possible interventions for tackling substandard and ‘problematic’ smaller HMOs in the area as set out below:

Do nothing - This option would involve the Council doing nothing to intervene in the small HMO sector this would leave the local housing market to be the driver for landlords carrying out improvements to their properties.

Do the minimum (reactive inspection programme only) - This option would mean that the Council intervention in the small HMO sector being limited to a basic complaint response service with action by other departments and agencies on a largely ad hoc basis.

Informal area action (Proactive inspection programme) - This would be delivered through a non-statutory Action Area, considering parts of the borough where there was concentration of poorly managed or maintained properties.

Voluntary Accreditation - Accreditation schemes have a set of standards (or code) relating to the management or physical condition of different HMOs and recognise properties/landlords who achieve/exceed the requirements. This was a voluntary scheme which relied upon the cooperation of landlords and agents and as such it was unlikely to attract a large part of the sector.

Targeted use of Interim Management Orders (IMOs) and Final Management Orders (FMOs) - The Housing Act 2004 gave local authorities powers to use Management Orders for tackling comprehensive and serious management failures. These powers were currently available for HMOs that were required to be licensed under the Mandatory HMO licensing scheme but not those HMOs that fell outside this national scheme.

Article 4 Direction - This option would rely on the use of this power to control the numbers of new HMOs and the market to drive property improvements. It would only succeed in reducing numbers if appropriate planning policy was adopted to restrict numbers, it was not retrospective and would not resolve the quality of the PRS stock, living conditions for tenants or neighbouring properties.

Agreed:-

(1)     that the Director of Housing be authorised to implement Additional Licensing for the defined part of West Bromwich, as per the proposal approved for consultation by Cabinet on 26 June 2019;

(2)     that in connection with Resolution (1) above, the Director of Housing be authorised to:

(a)          publish the notice of decision within 7 days of the decision;

(b)          undertake a promotional campaign, including timescale for implementation, to run from February 2022;

(c)          introduce a 3-month grace period for additional licensing from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022; and

(d)          commence enforcement activity for unlicensed premises from 1 July 2022.