The council had appealed against the decision of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) to cancel the civil penalties imposed on the landlord in respect of 2 properties that should have had selective licences before being rented out.

The council inspected the property "following concerns around the state and condition of the rear yard" where waste had built up, a drain gully was blocked, there was "incomplete" provision for proper drainage and a risk of vermin infestation.

Stoke on Trent Council has announced that it is working in partnership with a community charity, Groundwork West Midlands, to reach out to private rented sector tenants to raise awareness of energy performance certificates (EPC) and offer advice on energy efficiency in order to reduce fuel poverty.

Trophy Homes Ltd pleaded guilty at the Magistrates Court to failing to apply for licences for two HMOs which it rented out to students and the District Judge hearing the case said the company was "poorly run" and showed a "clear lack of regard" for the tenants.

The landlord failed to attend the Magistrates Court hearing and was ordered to pay a fine of £660, costs of £300 and a victim surcharge of £65 for "failing to properly licence a house .... he owned and rented out.

The rent repayment order (RRO) was set at 50% of the potential total of £19,760 that could have been imposed in this case by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT). The landlord also had to pay £300 in costs.

Greenwich Council says the consultation has been relaunched "following feedback from the community" with the new consultation running from 13th January to 24th March. The council also says, in its October 2022 consultation report, that currently, there are "450 suspect HMOs under investigation" in its area. It added that the previous additional licensing scheme ".... has made good progress in improving standards in a large number of HMOs, However, there are still a significant number of properties that remain unlicensed and there are issues with non-compliance".

Wirral Council had prosecuted the landlord for failure to apply for property licences under the council's selective licensing scheme. He had also failed to comply with improvement notices requiring him to remedy the poor condition of his properties.

Birmingham and Southwark councils have both reported significant planning enforcement successes against PRS landlords - £83,000 in fines and costs in Birmingham and £52,000 in Southwark.

The new private rented property licensing schemes will come into force on 1st April 2023, online applications for licences will open from 1st February 2023 and the advice forum will be held, via Microsoft Teams, on 7th February at 6 p.m.