May

‘Landlords will have no choice but to raise rents’ council is warned over licensing plan

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A landlord leader in the East Midlands has warned that rents will rise if councillors in Nottingham vote to renew the city’s selective licensing scheme, which is due to expire next year.

Giles Inman (main pic), who represents 600 landlords in the region through his organisation EMPO, says increased costs across the board along with the fees charged by the city’s council to administer the scheme, will leave landlords with no option but to begin raising rents.

A consultation on the proposed renewal of the scheme will soon be oned for landlord commentary.

“We are considering forming a committee to draft our own submission on behalf of landlords – we are considering going against that renewal,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“The costs associated with complying with the licensing scheme translates into higher rents (for tenants). There is no question about it.

“You have utility bills going through the roof and huge strains on tenants paying gas and electricity to heat their homes.

“Bills are going to be twice as expensive in December than they were in January for those that are not on a fixed tariff.

“This is really not the time if ‘we are all in it together’ to be putting more costs on tenants.

“Landlords are trying to keep costs for the tenants as low as possible. This is the last thing we need right now. We know the council are going to move forward with this.”

32,000 properties

Nottingham City Council introduced its selective licensing scheme in 2018 covering 32,000 properties featuring landlord fees that began at £670 but were later increased to £890 and, Inman fears, likely to rise again if a further five-year scheme gets the green light.

At a committee meeting this week, councillors hailed the scheme as a success, revealing that 666 improvements have been made to 446 properties, that more rogue landlords had left the market and a speedier resolution to anti-social behaviour cases.

“We believe that there is more work needed to support landlords to comply with their responsibilities and it is important that standards are maintained and continue to improve where needed,” says Toby Neal, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Human Resources at Nottingham City Council.

Read more about EMPO’s campaign in Nottingham.

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