Feb

Interview: Leading figure Slams fast-spreading HMO and Selective Licensing schemes as ‘insane’

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Estate agent Steve Wayne says both landlords and lettings agents believe licensing schemes

Leading London estate agent Steve Wayne has said
what many in the private rental sector think but are usually too afraid to say
– that Selective and HMO licensing is a ‘a ridiculous joke’.

Wayne runs multi-branch agency Benjamin Stevens
with a head office in Edgware, a second branch in Bushey but it’s a business that
also covers Luton and Camden. Wayne runs a large portfolio on behalf of his
landlord clients.

His biggest gripe about Selective Licensing and
HMO regualtions is that they all feature different regulations depending on
location which, if you’re a landlord or agent looking after multiple
properties, make the paperwork a nightmare.

“For example, where I’m sat here in our head office,
we’re surrounded by the London Borough of Barnet, Brent and Harrow and they all
have different policies on HMOs, while some do Selective Licensing and some
don’t,” he says.

“It’s insane when you think about the
practicalities of it; we have identical properties that are only a road apart
and yet the rules and price of paying to register can be very different.

“For example, you end up having one long
road, a third of which is in Harrow, a third of which is Brent, and the other
bit is in Barnet.”

Wayne says it was a mistake for the
government to give boroughs individual control over how the different licensing
schemes work because it then becomes a bureaucratic nightmare.

“If we had one set of rules that were applied nationally then it would
be easier to enforce and easier for tenants and landlords to understand what levels
of property and tenancy management are expected.”

View Full Article: Interview: Leading figure Slams fast-spreading HMO and Selective Licensing schemes as ‘insane’