Nottingham Council has announced that, pending a positive decision by its Executive Board, it will start a public consultation on 1st March (ending 24th May) on renewing its additional licensing scheme.

If approved, the new citywide scheme will commence in January 2024 and the council says the new scheme will aim to help landlords ensure their properties meet appropriate standards; protect the health, safety and well-being of tenants and communities by ensuring safe and well managed properties; help inform tenants of both the landlord's obligations and the tenant's obligations; and empower the council to inspect properties which otherwise wouldn't be inspected unless a complaint was received by the council.

It adds that the current additional licensing scheme has had a positive impact on problems associated with HMOs such as inadequate gas and electrical safety, overcrowding and anti-social behaviour amongst other issues.

Cllr. Toby Neal, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Human Resources, said "Poor housing conditions and poor property management can have a serious impact on people's health and well-being .... The council believes the introduction of a new licensing scheme would not only bring benefits for tenants and local communities but also landlords who .... will be able to clearly demonstrate .... that they meet required standards".

Meanwhile, local media have reported on criticism of the council's current selective licensing scheme which is due to end in July this year. The selective licensing scheme covered 32,000 properties in the city and a proposed renewal of that scheme will see an "anticipated 28,000 properties" being licensed.

The criticism revolved around evidence that selective licensing fee costs had seen some landlords raise rents to compensate for those costs and, in addition, only a small percentage of licensed properties had been inspected over the term of the scheme which saw "A total of 666 improvements ... made to 446 properties".

Local landlords, under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, appointed external auditors, Grant Thornton, to look into value for money issues (for both landlords and tenants) relating to the selective licensing scheme.

Grant Thornton are reported as saying (in relation to the council's 2019/2020 accounts covering the scheme) that overall the scheme did not run smoothly, partly due to the Covid pandemic and " ... it is clear, and unsurprising, that many landlords did pass the licence fees on to tenants, as there was a rise in average rent levels in the city following implementation of the scheme" but added that other factors in the city's "buoyant" rental market "have arguably had more significant consequences" for rent rises.

Further reported criticism was directed at the low number of inspections during the course of the scheme and the auditor pointed out that the pandemic, as well as council staff shortages, had a significant impact on this aspect of the scheme outcome. It was pointed out that the backlog of inspections is unlikely to be cleared by the end of the scheme in July 2023.

Grant Thornton also recommended that issues with the on-line application system, described as "overly bureaucratic" by landlords, needed to be addressed by the council.

In response Giles Inman of local landlord association EMPO is reported as saying "We trade as a business so any regulatory costs come into rent ...." and in relation to the application process "It takes an age to get the draft licence. We've had reports that landlords have waited over 12 months".

The auditors concluded that "The council has clearly learned lessons during the implementation of the original scheme" and Cllr. Neal was quoted in the West BridgFord Wire as pointing out that the first scheme was successful in the aim of protecting tenants from poor property management though improvements were needed and that "For the new scheme we will look to streamline the application process and increase inspections across a more focussed geographical area .... we don't believe there is any direct evidence that selective licensing has increased rents, with other factors such as supply and demand being the main drivers for this". Of the proposed licence fee per property under the new selective scheme he said "For a licence that lasts up to five years, this works out at around £11 per month.

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