Croydon Council has promised to conduct more housing inspections under its new selective and additional licensing schemes, which both launch on 1st September.

The selective scheme will cover about 72% of the borough’s PRS in 14 of its 28 wards with the highest evidence-based levels of concern: Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Bensham Manor, Broad Green, Fairfield, Norbury and Pollards Hill, Norbury Park, Selhurst, South Croydon, South Norwood, Thornton Heath, Waddon, West Thornton and Woodside.

A new additional licensing scheme – Croydon’s first - will apply to smaller HMOs across the borough.

The schemes include a stronger, targeted inspection regime focused on properties with poor conditions or management and safety hazards.

Feedback

Feedback from its consultation has shaped the final proposals, including more property inspections and clearer plans for delivery, according to the council, which adds that it has also developed a stronger evidence base, meaning that the schemes are now more targeted and can be delivered more effectively.

It believes the schemes will also allow it to take firmer action against landlords who are not meeting basic housing standards such as damp and mould and fire safety.

“These evidence-based schemes give us stronger powers to act where homes are not being properly managed, so we can focus on the areas where issues are most common and drive out poor practice,” says executive mayor Jason Perry.

Rules

“Where landlords break the rules, we will act. We will not allow people’s safety or living conditions to be put at risk. This is about raising standards across Croydon and making sure residents can feel safe and confident in their homes.”

The borough’s last selective scheme ended in 2020, by which time 38,596 licences had been issued. A year later, the council failed in its attempt to renew it after then Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick rejected its bid, saying that it couldn’t prove how it would improve housing conditions.

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