Landlords have been urged to join a legal action to challenge Leicester Council’s “unreasonably extortionate” selective licensing fees.
Forty landlords have already got behind the challenge which is being co-ordinated by JMP Solicitors and letting agent Martin & Co Leicester.
Landlords in Leicester currently pay £1,290 per property which is much higher than many selective licensing fees in other parts of the country, while only charging moderate rents.
They cite the examples of Newham in London and Liverpool where discounts reduce the fees to £650 and £407 respectively.
Both firms say evidence obtained from the council through a Freedom of Information request reveals that the fees are totally unjustifiable and don’t reflect the actual costs of running the scheme. Instead, the money is being used to prop up the council’s coffers - in clear breach of the legal principles governing licensing schemes.
“This is causing significant financial hardship for responsible landlords
“This is causing significant financial hardship for responsible landlords,” says Sam Smart, director of Martin & Co Leicester (main image).
“In many cases, landlords simply cannot absorb these costs, meaning they are being forced to pass them onto tenants through higher rents. This is directly harming tenants, making the rental market in Leicester even less affordable for ordinary people.”
Jason Smart, consultant at JMP Solicitors, tells LandlordZONE that although the scheme launched in 2022, they decided to act now as the Renters’ Right Bill was putting further pressure on landlords and, in turn, tenants.
“The argument isn’t against selective licensing per se, but that the fees are penal in nature,” he explains. “We hope to achieve a substantial reduction in the fee, and to recover the penal element from the fees that have already been charged.”
The more landlords who join the better, says Smart, who reckons they could get hundreds backing the cause. He is now preparing the case - acting on a no win, no fee basis - and hopes to issue an initial letter of claim to the council next month.
LandlordZONE has approached Leicester Council for a comment.
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