The London borough of Merton's council has opened a public consultation on plans to bring in private rented sector property licensing across 7 its wards. Although the council already requires, under mandatory HMO licensing rules, it is now proposing to start using selective licensing covering single household rented properties, to bring in additional licensing to cover smaller HMO properties and also to require any conversion of a property into an HMO, of whatever size, to first be granted planning permission from the council

The private rented sector in the London borough of Wandsworth is now estimated to constitute up to a third of all housing stock in the area with the council saying that the "standards of delivery within the private rented sector vary widely" and that whilst most landlords are responsible "there exists a rogue landlord element that deliver substandard ... and sometimes dangerous dwellings".

Following on from a joint letter to the Prime Minister from the leaders of Kent and Hampshire county councils warning that both councils would be likely to be considering section 114 notices "within the next year or so", the Local Government Association (LGA) has also issued a dire warning about the additional cost pressures impacting on local authority service provision.

A Private Members' Bill, sponsored by Bob Blackman MP, to regulate private rented sector provision of supported housing to vulnerable tenants is to have its second reading in the House of Commons this week (18th November).

Haringey Council's new large selective licensing scheme will go live on 17th November meaning that, after that date, any private rented sector landlord operating rental properties in the borough without having applied for or been granted a licence (per property) to so operate will be operating illegally.

The public consultation opened on November 1st and closes on 31st January with the aim "to ensure that all rented properties are safe and well managed [and] ...... to better understand how and where [the council] can make a difference".

Two weeks after he moved in to the rental property in Cambridge the tenant had created a "fake estate agent" in order to list the property for sale on-line and had fitted the property out with rented show home furniture.

Propertymark has published its response to the public consultation on the new decent homes standard (DHS) for the private rented sector and calls for a focus on prevention via provision to landlords of advice/information and support rather than prosecution when it comes to enforcement of the standard.

In September we reported that the Government was to make it a legal obligation for landlords using "bills included" tenancies to pass on the cost of living crisis £400 energy bills rebate to their tenants. Currently, over half a million private rented sector tenants (equivalent to 13% of PRS tenants) are on such tenancies.

The Judge at Thames Magistrates Court said the private rented sector landlord's offending "undermines the entire system of planning control" when ordering him to pay a £251,582 confiscation order, Waltham Forest Council's legal costs of £29,725 and a fine of £12,000 (reduced from £16,000 in recognition of the landlord's pleading guilty).