Covering 22 out of 24 wards in the borough, the council says that the granting of approval for a third consecutive selective licensing scheme is unprecedented.

Despite warnings from Warwick District Council, the doctor, who rented out a flat in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, illegally evicted their tenant and has now been convicted and sentenced under the Protection from Eviction Act.

Under its new selective licence scheme Oxford City Council will start looking for unlicensed private rented sector properties from 1st January 2023 as it exceeds initial expectations on numbers of so called "early bird" licence applications from private landlords and managing agents.

Reported in LandlordZone, the research, carried out for property data platform LandTech, suggests that up to 64% of PRS homes will be non-compliant when new minimum energy efficiency standards come into force in 2025.

London Borough of Islington Council is being investigated over damp and mould complaints that could indicate a more widespread failing by the council, as a landlord, to properly deal with such complaints.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has sent "a clear message to social landlords that they must deal with damp and mould as the serious hazards that they are, treat tenants with respect, and take their concerns seriously".

Shropshire Council says it has seen an increase in households approaching it for housing assistance and so is appealing to private rented sector landlords to get in touch if they think they can offer a tenancy to someone in housing need.

Homelessness charity Crisis and landlord association the NRLA have announced their "innovative" partnership aimed at reducing homelessness in the UK by improving access to the private rented sector (PRS).

The consultation also covers the Private Rented Sector Offer process carried out by local authorities which will become irrelevant once assured shorthold tenancies and fixed term tenancies as well as s.21 notices are abolished.

Reported in Property Investor Post, the research by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) suggests that of private rented sector (PRS) landlords who have served a repossession notice "at some point", over half had done so due to anti-social behaviour or criminal activity on the part of the tenant.

DLUHC has announced it is to make over £8 million available to local authorities to "bolster" their enforcement activity against owners and developers of high rise residential properties requiring repairs to be made to cladding post the Grenfell fire tragedy.

In a letter covering the state of the private rented sector to Parliament's Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, Housing Minister Felicity Buchan MP advised that there appear to be 260,000 fewer PRS households today than 5 years ago. She also advised the committee that, in relation to selective licensing, the Government doesn't collect data on the income derived by local authorities from housing enforcement activity.

If the proposed additional licensing scheme for smaller HMO properties is approved by the council it is set to commence in April 2023. The previous additional licensing scheme ended in September this year.

The point is that all councils, one way or another, must be able to evidence their private rented sector (PRS) housing enforcement activity. This is even more so the case now, following the recent letter sent by Michael Gove MP to all council leaders and chief executives in England demanding details of their housing enforcement activity relating to damp and mould issues in both the social and private rented sector.

A landlord who failed to licence a house in multiple occupation (HMO) under Haringey Council's boroughwide additional licensing scheme must repay over £10,000 of rent to 4 tenants under a rent repayment order (RRO).

An extra £50 million of funding is being made available for councils this winter to help the most vulnerable households to pay off rent arrears or find new accommodation if they are being evicted.

Derbyshire Dales District Council, Amber Valley Borough Council and Erewash Borough Council will share the funding to target poor quality PRS housing standards over a 2 year project period. The partnership project should enable the councils to each inspect 500 PRS properties per 12 month period over the 2 years of the study in order improve housing enforcement outcomes in the PRS.

Middlesbrough Council is carrying out a public consultation on extending the private rented sector selective licensing scheme currently in place in the Newport area of the borough. The consultation will run until 30th January 2023.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has written to Michael Gove MP saying that the Government needs to make it easier for councils to use selective licensing conditions as a method of housing enforcement.