Better Outcomes From Selective Licensing Schemes As A Result Of Partnership Working

In 2019 an independent review carried out for the Government concluded that Selective Licensing is an effective tool for use by Local Authorities in dealing with private rented sector housing problems in their areas. But, and certainly in the current pandemic related financial situation, can partnership working be an improvement on the current way of working for Local Authorities that decide to use the Selective Licensing tool available to them?
Selective Licensing was brought into force by the 2004 Housing Act and so has remained pretty much the same vehicle for nearly two decades but, as time has moved on, the ground under the feet of Local Authorities has also moved and, since the financial crash and following the Covid-19 pandemic, quite dramatically. Local Authority resources are tight and officer numbers significantly reduced whilst the private rented housing sector has doubled in size since 2002 and now comprises 19% of all households.
Working with a Delivery Partner can help Local Authorities get better outcomes from their Selective Licensing schemes in the current environment referred to above. Partnering is not the same as outsourcing. When partnering on a Selective Licensing scheme the Local Authority does not give up its regulatory authority and retains complete oversight but has the advantage of being able to deploy its existing officers and finances more effectively whilst working closely alongside the Delivery Partner it has chosen to partner with.
A good Delivery Partner should have the ability to quickly process large numbers of licence applications, including all the relevant property and tenancy documentation required to be submitted by a landlord applying for a selective licence to operate a rented property. This enables the Authority itself to issue the selective licences much more quickly.
A Delivery Partner should also able to support and manage good landlords in maintaining their compliance with the Authority’s licensing conditions and, where compliance by the landlord fails, can provide the Authority with all the evidence needed to deliver effective enforcement and consequently impose civil penalties or take forward a prosecution of a landlord by the selective licensing team within the Authority.
The support that the Delivery Partner can provide to private landlords is above and beyond what a Local Authority is either resourced or legally empowered to provide and goes to the heart of the value that a landlord gets from their property as an asset whilst also enhancing the benefit to tenants living in the licensed area.
After two decades, it is, arguably, time for the current approach to Selective Licensing to evolve so that it can cope with the changes that have taken place within the ecosystem in which the private rented sector exists as well as in the sector itself.