The Conservative-led Great Yarmouth Council cabinet meets today to consider a new Selective Licensing scheme for privately rented properties.
If agreed, there will be a public consultation; if councillors then rubber-stamp the idea, as expected, there will then be a licence fee of £784 per property for landlords.
A council spokesperson says: “Generally, we have responsible landlords, but not everyone has a home that is safe, warm and good quality. This scheme would mean landlords must comply with a number of licence conditions.
”We know some privately rented properties are in a poor condition and we are determined to try to improve standards. Bad housing has a detrimental impact on the lives of people and our residents deserve better where there are problems.”
The proposals follow a previous selective licensing scheme covering most of one ward that was in place between 2019 and 2024 involving over1,500 privately rented homes.
The spokesperson continues: “Most landlords are good ones, and want to provide good-quality homes, but sadly not all are. It is not acceptable that they get away with providing sub-standard accommodation for the people of the borough.
“We already have some powers related to housing, but this scheme will allow us to more effectively deal with a range of issues that impact people. We will be better able to tackle health hazards and overcrowding – which is a real problem for some of our residents.
“We would be able to systematically inspect properties to make sure things like gas and electric certification are up to date, rather than simply reacting to complaints as we currently do.
“Where necessary, we could refuse to issue a licence and hold people accountable. We know the majority of landlords want to do the best they can for tenants, and we want to better engage with them and agents to ensure people have good housing.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today