Council to charge landlords Gold and Silver fee rates for new licenses

Barking and Dagenham council is launching what appears to be a unique approach to new licensing regimes for private landlords. 

Councillor Syed Ghani, who’s running the schemes, says: “I’m really pleased that the additional HMO licensing scheme has been approved, as this will provide reassurance and support for private tenants. This scheme will allow us to ensure that landlords are providing quality homes for their tenants and also give us the means to tackle rogue landlords.”

All properties requiring a licence will be inspected prior to the licence being issued, and fees will be automatically discounted for landlords demonstrating best practices:

• Silver Compliance Award: Satisfactory rating from compliance audit inspection (property meets the standards when inspected). Discount – £200 off the Part B fee for scheme running costs;

• Gold Compliance Award: Accredited landlord and satisfactory rating from compliance audit inspection. Discount – £250 off the Part B fee for scheme running costs.

The new selective scheme is set to cost landlords £950 and the additional scheme, £1,400. The charges and ‘gold and silver’ system comes into effect in early January. 

The new scheme will cover privately rented, smaller HMOs that house three or four people, currently outside the scope of mandatory licensing. Under the scheme, landlords of smaller HMOs in Barking and Dagenham will need to ensure they are fully licensed and maintain safe, decent homes. The additional HMO scheme will mean landlords of all HMOs in Barking and Dagenham will require a licence to legally let their properties.

This article is taken from Landlord Today