Landlords in Birmingham have been fined an astonishing £450,000 over the past two years as its council has cracked down on those who don’t license their rental properties under the city’s Selective and Additional HMO schemes.
The extraordinary figure, which is believed to be the largest in the UK, follows the council’s announcement that it has undertaken 12,000 inspections since the summer of 2023 and that 40,000 landlords have been licensed under the schemes.
Its Selective Licensing went live in July that year despite landlord concerns, covering 25 of the city’s wards which have more than 20% of rented properties and high levels of deprivation.
Its Additional HMO scheme went live at the same time, covering all smaller HMOs across the city.
Birmingham has warned non-compliant landlords that they face both fines of to £30,000 if a property if found to not be licensed, while tenants can apply for Rent Repayment Orders of up to 12 months’ rent, which under the Renters’ Rights Bill will rise to 24 months.
The council is also encouraging tenants to check their property has been registered under one of the two schemes.
"I am pleased to say that the new licensing schemes have raised the bar for private rental housing in Birmingham, and in some cases have even proven to be life-saving,” says Councillor Nicky Brennan (pictured), Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness.
“Around one in four of our compliance inspections have required landlords to take action to improve conditions for their tenants… including urgent repairs to fix leaky roofs, mouldy bedrooms, and the absence of essential safety features like smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.
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