Landlord licenses improve Newham housing

Newham Council's mandatory scheme that means all private rented properties must be licensed is providing good results. The council is the first in the UK to have implemented such a scheme that requires all private landlords within the borough to register and and apply for a license. The scheme is making it much easier for people to find homes to rent in London.

The scheme was put in place on January 1st this year, giving a month-long extension to all private landlords before it fully took effect. For those landlords that registered at the earliest opportunity, a reduced fee of £150 was paid for their five-year license.

Any landlords that failed to register with the council before January 31st were liable to pay the full £500. Any landlords that are renting out private properties and have not registered for a license are subject to fines of up to £20,000 for each of their properties.

While these new rules may seem harsh to some, Newham Council has successfully helped to ensure the quality of rental properties and to make sure that people are not living in illegal conditions.

Figures released earlier in the month (August) show that since the start of February some 2320 properties were sent warning letters, with 50 per cent of landlords registering and securing a license after this initial letter. Some 63 operations have been carried out to target any properties that are poorly managed, or are without a license.

There are 110 ongoing legal cases in the borough relating to to unlicensed properties and offences relating to House of Multiple Occupation management regulations. Some 43 cautions and enforcement charges of £300 have been issued to landlords found to be committing lower-level offences.

The new private landlord rules have also helped to drastically reduce any instances of crime within the borough. Police have made 110 arrests for various crimes that have all begun with rented properties being found to be unlicensed.

Published 28th August, 2013

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