In 2021, we were invited to take part in a consultation on extending a licensing scheme to more homes in multiple occupation (HMOs) – an Additional Licensing Scheme. The City of York Council have now published their report and it goes to the Council Meeting on the 28th July 2022, asking the Executive to consider recommendations to implement the proposals within identified designated areas of the city.
We instructed the National Residential Landlords Association Legal Counsel David Smith, a Partner and Commercial Litigation specialist from JMW Solicitors who specialises in residential property rights and landlord regulation to assess the consultation and submit our response. In his first letter dated 11th May 2021 David raised several concerns, in summary: that the Consultation was unlikely to meet the requirements for a lawful Consultation, that the document ‘Considering the case for additional licencing in houses in multiple occupation fails to make a clearly evidenced case and finally that the Guidance Notes for Room Sizes are unlawful.
Although some of these concerns were addressed in the Second Consultation we again instructed David Smith to assess the consultation and his letter on 11th December 2021 outlined the fact that his fundamental concerns about the evidence base remain unchanged and the weak evidence base is still open to challenge.
Our preference would be for an accreditation scheme run by a recognised body, and we feel that this had not been given sufficient consideration and there now appears to be a growing appetite for this due to the recent analysis undertaken by Unipol on behalf of the University of York and York St John University Student Unions. There is criticism of a voluntary scheme that it self-selects the better landlords, but this is equally applicable to an HMO licensing scheme. Without effective enforcement an Additional Licensing scheme selects the better landlords who will apply for licensing and simply ignores the criminal landlords who do not. Given, the weak evidence base and that you have not really produced any evidence which convincingly links problems such as noise or rubbish to the management of HMOs it is unreasonable for you to state that a licensing scheme is fairer because it will charge landlords who you claim, without evidence, are the problem.
According to David Smith the comments that the additional HMO licensing scheme will be self-funding, is simply untrue. No local authority has effectively run a licensing scheme that was properly resourced and effective on a self-funding basis. This means there is the potential need to have to increase Council Tax to subsidise Additional Licensing which wouldn’t be a positive message to the residents of York.
We would also question the need for an Additional Licensing Scheme given the indications that the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are looking to increase control on a national level. Point 8 of the 12-step plan of action in the ‘a fairer private rented sector’ policy paper intended to feed into the Renters Reform Bill looks at the concept of a Property Portal or Landlord Register which in essence duplicates a lot of the information designed to be collected through local licensing schemes. Information which David Smith has been very clear in stating that City of York Council already have access to and that they already have all the necessary powers and information to control housing standards in York.
David Smith has now referred his concerns to Justin Bates a Barrister at Landmark Chambers who specialises in housing, property and local government law. City of York Council will be receiving, in due course, further correspondence from David Smith in relation to this.