Nearly two thirds of Islington landlords oppose selective licensing, survey reveals
Islington Town Hall. Photograph: Islington Citizen
The majority of Islington’s private landlords and letting agents oppose new licensing rules and reject the idea they have helped raise housing standards, a council-commissioned study has revealed.
In a bid to improve property standards and “protect residents from rogue landlords”, the council is currently consulting on plans to charge private property owners in certain areas £850 if they want to let out their ‘standard’ house – otherwise known as selective licensing.
On Monday (7 April) the Town Hall’s homes and communities scrutiny committee was briefed on a recent study into locals’ views on the matter.
Following an initial survey of residents, including private renters, landlords and lettings agencies, investigators from MEL Research found that while the council’s plans were supported by the majority of residents overall, some raised concerns the schemes “unfairly targeted good landlords”.
Meanwhile, a large minority (four in 10) of tenants said they “had not experienced any issues around renting”, said MEL’s Karen Etheridge.
Cllr Michael O’Sullivan (Labour, Finsbury Park) warned that the “asymmetrical” relationship between tenants and landlords could have influenced responses, and suggested some tenants may not have complained to the council due to fear of being evicted.
The council also plans to extend additional licensing for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which is currently in force but expires next February.
Under UK law, landlords who rent out houses or flats to at least three tenants who do not form a single household — as is becoming increasingly common with flatshares — need to obtain an HMO licence to do so.
Smaller properties with three to four occupants are subject to ‘additional licensing’. For instance, when houses are converted into self-contained flats but do not meet building regulations.
Selective licensing is already in place in some parts of the borough, covering Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington wards.
But Islington is moving to introduce it in nine more areas: Barnsbury, Caledonian, Tufnell Park, Mildmay, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Canonbury, and Clerkenwell.
Under the proposals, fees for selective licensing would be £850 for a standard house, with a discount of £775 per house for landlords recognised by the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) or other official registers.
The survey found that nearly two thirds of landlords oppose the policy, and roughly half also disagreed with plans to renew the borough’s additional HMO licensing.
Resident observer Mr Dean Donaghey said he believed these proposed costs would be “too high” for landlords, and these would end up being passed on to tenants.
However, nearly half of total respondents agreed with the council’s proposals.
While a third of private renters believed that landlords maintained their properties to a “good standard”, a similar proportion said they felt the opposite was true.
The core problems tenants said they had experienced in their rented homes were damp and mould, poor conditions, and not being given enough provision for waste.
Islington Council has stated it has recovered £423,000 from property licensing in the last five years.
The proposal states that inspections of the borough’s licensed properties found that many continue to be sub-standard, leaving “much scope for improvement”.
Town Hall analysis has also found a third (37 per cent) of HMOs are predicted to have either serious and immediate health ‘Category 1’ hazards, or high-scoring but less urgent ‘Category 2’ hazards.
The consultation period on the plans will run until Sunday 13 April.
Islington’s cabinet is expected to vote on the policy in September.