The licensing scheme went live in October last year with the undiscounted fee set at £1,090 and the council is now reminding private rented sector landlords with properties within the scheme areas that "early bird" fee discounts of 10% will end on 10th April.

The council had received a complaint about poor conditions in a private rented property including no fixed heating provision, no provision for hot water, inadequate water services, no smoke detectors and a cooker that was badly connected and which didn't conform to current standards.

The two bed flat in Finchley, London, was advertised for auction with photographs showing much of its cannabis growing paraphernalia still inside.

We previously reported on the Court of Appeal decision in the rent repayment order (RRO) case of Rakusen v Jepson & Ors. Both the First and the Upper Tier tribunals had decided in favour of the applicant tenants but the Court of Appeal, and now also the Supreme Court, decided in favour of the long leaseholder, Mr Rakusen.

The illegal eviction involved the physical assault of one tenant and bailiffs entering the property on the instruction of the landlords without a court order.

Birmingham Council for instance, has reportedly recovered £4.9 million in "wrongly claimed" housing benefit covering supported exempt PRS accommodation and cancelled 3000 benefit claims.

The City Mayors of Manchester, Liverpool and London signed up to the letter which was coordinated by the London Renters Union and which seeks a PRS rent freeze due to the cost of living crisis.

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.

The briefing says "This advice provides an overview for practitioners and landlords about how to deal with damp and mould" in a proactive way which understands tenant experiences, and resolves the underlying issue.

The agent, based in Edmonton in the London borough of Enfield, operated 3 unlicensed properties in the area and did not attend court for the sentencing this month after being found guilty in November 2022 of failing to obtain selective licenses for the properties.