Brighton & Hove City Council has given the go-ahead for a selective licensing scheme that will eventually cover 17 of its 23 wards.

The scheme – set to launch in September - will initially cover some 2,100 rented properties in the Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina wards, where evidence demonstrates a clear link between poor property conditions – although the authority admits that landlords and agents “generally disagreed” with the scheme during a consultation, arguing that this could lead to fewer rental properties.

Second stage

Brighton & Hove will also seek Secretary of State approval for a second stage of selective licensing six months after the launch, to cover 13 wards and a further 9,500 properties in Brunswick & Adelaide, Central Hove, Goldsmid, Hanover & Elm Grove, Hollingdean & Fiveways, Preston Park, Regency, Rottingdean & West Saltdean, Round Hill, South Portslade, West Hill & North Laine, Westbourne & Poets Corner and Wish.

A new additional licensing scheme for smaller HMOs has also been approved by city councillors, covering about 2,200 properties and set to launch by the summer. The previous five-year city-wide scheme ended last year, which it says resulted in improvements made to management, building and safety standards that benefitted about 5,500 tenants.

Multiple benefits

Councillor Gill Williams, chair of the housing & new homes committee, (pictured right) says the benefits of the schemes are multiple. “It leads to better managed, safer and fit to occupy properties for tenants and reduces levels of deprivation for the wider community,” she adds.

“It also supports our work to prevent homelessness through reducing abrupt end of tenancies through early intervention and dialogue. They can also benefit landlords by putting us in a better position to help them improve and maintain their properties. It isn’t only about dealing with problem landlords.”

The licence fee for the selective scheme will be £670.

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