Licensing schemes are an essential tool for elevating rental housing standards. At their core, Selective and Additional licensing schemes are all about ensuring better living conditions for tenants, a goal everyone can stand behind. The real conversation often centres on the most effective ways to achieve these standards. Based on our hands-on experience, the central pillar of any successful licensing scheme lies in rigorous property inspections that ensure tenants have a safe place to live.

Home Safe partners with local authorities to improve private rented housing. Our involvement can be from the beginning of the scheme, handling application submissions for the council to issue the licence, and extends through to carrying out inspections and compliance management. Central to our partnership is the thorough inspection of properties. Our team of qualified HHSRS assessors conduct several inspections—two, three, or even five times during the lifetime of the licensing scheme. This rigorous approach is what drives substantial improvements in the private rented sector.

Our inspection dashboard allows a local authority to see, in real-time the properties in the borough under licence and their licence status. Home Safe conducts multiple inspections based on the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), with all details recorded electronically, as well as compliance management programmes.This involves thorough property inspections and verifying that all certifications are accurate and that properties comply with all conditions of the scheme. This allows local authorities to access the inspection data for any property at any time, ensuring transparency and ongoing compliance monitoring.

Upon completing an inspection, an inspection report is automatically emailed to the landlord or agent, detailing any areas where the property did not meet standards and includes a timeline for when these issues need to be rectified. The landlord or managing agent is then required to provide proof that corrective actions have been completed, either by themselves or through a contractor. The second and third inspection and compliance programme follow a similar path, checking that previous issues have been remedied as instructed. This allows the council to see the number of issues that have been identified, any trends being found, landlords compliance and the change that they are making in the community.

With this approach, each property undergoes multiple inspections, and certification is maintained throughout the entire five-year period, making it challenging for declining standards to go unnoticed. This enables local authorities to concentrate their resources on addressing landlords and agents who fail to comply. The process filters out unlicensed landlords or those not meeting minimum standards, allowing local authorities to demonstrate how consistent inspections have tangibly improved the private rented sector.

For further information on how our inspection services can help you drive positive change in your community, contact us today.