Where Selective Licensing is concerned it’s a true to say that strong opinions are held, either for or against, by different stakeholders in an area that has been designated for a Selective Licensing scheme. Landlords often (but not always) seem to fall into the “against” camp.

One thing that most landlords can agree on though is that they want a level playing field in the rental market where their property is located. Regulation through a Selective Licence scheme is one way that such a level playing field can be achieved.

Selective Licensing in an area means that all relevant private landlords with a licensable property located there are legally required to obtain a licence to operate that property from the Local Authority. This is, after all, no different from many other business sectors providing services to members of the public in a given Local Authority area, such as a pub or a food establishment.

The first factor to note is that landlords who don’t apply for their licence within the timescale set by the Local Authority (and who don’t qualify for a Temporary Exemption Notice) don’t necessarily escape the attention of that Authority as civil penalties can be imposed by a Local Authority for late applications and, as not applying when required to is itself a criminal offence a Local Authority can seek to prosecute. Some of the criminal landlords will be aware of this and will already have sold their property in the area and, therefore, will have been weeded out – the first step in the process of creating the level playing field.

The application process itself distinguishes good landlords from bad and landlords who need support and advice from those who don’t because applicant landlords will need to provide to the Local Authority copies of their lettings documentation such as gas safety, electrical installation, and energy performance certificates. They will also need to confirm they are a “Fit and Proper Person” to hold a licence i.e. they have no previous unspent convictions for housing, drug or sexual offences. This process is the second step in creating the level playing field

The next, and very necessary, step is the carrying out of a programme of property inspections either by the Local Authority directly or by a Licensing Delivery Partner working with the Local Authority. The purpose of this is to ensure that all the licensed landlords and their licensed properties in the area are compliant with the licensing conditions set by the Local Authority. Further inspections carried out at points during the 5 year term of the licence scheme - Home Safe typically recommends 3 over 5 years - will ensure that all these landlords and their properties remain compliant throughout.

The resulting level playing field benefits not just tenants but also the landlords. The regulation of the sector by licensing brings all licensed properties up to the same standard thus increasing the asset value for all the landlords and protects good landlords from being undercut by rogue / criminal landlords. It also has the effect of helping to protect good but not professional landlords from the risk of legal action taken on behalf of tenants living in poorly maintained properties.