Luton Council is to face yet another legal challenge in its attempt to introduce a long-delayed selective licensing scheme.
The case will return to the Court of Appeal in January after a notice of legal action was served on the council by a group of landlords and letting agents who have succeeded in halting it, along with a new additional licensing scheme, for several years.
The council hopes to target five areas of the town through the scheme, which was first proposed in 2018, and suffered delays in 2020, 2023 and 2024. It reports: “It is very disappointing that there continues to be delay in the council being able to implement these schemes as a result of these legal challenges, but we are continuing to defend our position.”
Councillor Ghulam Abbas, portfolio holder for housing and neighbourhood services, told a council meeting that permission to appeal on limited grounds over both schemes had been granted, reports Luton Today.
However, he added it remained committed to protecting tenants from rogue landlords and substandard housing and would recruit 13 new staff to more than double the current private sector enforcement team.
“That should be completed this autumn, and we should see a real step change in enforcement,” said Abbas.
“We’ll continue to take action against any landlords which compromise those standards and the safety of our residents. We need to follow a legal process. If landlords raise objections, then these have to be dealt with and it’s unfortunate.
“But it takes as long as it takes for us to address all the concerns and the issue presented by landlords and letting agents out there. We must follow due process and make sure the scheme is passed through.”
New staff will include four rogue landlord officers, single family home enforcement officers, a strategic support officer, and a legal officer.
Tags:
Comments