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.

The Local Government Association says the recruitment problems come as councils "struggle" to cope with new duties such as the post-Grenfell building safety system and reviewing the condition of social and private rented sector housing.

The proposal for private rented sector property licensing covering smaller HMOs across the city was approved, and the additional licensing scheme designation made, at a council Cabinet meeting on 17th January.

The former hotel was found to have no guests but had become an HMO occupied by 18 rent paying people living in "squalid" conditions in 11 of the 15 rooms.

The landlord, who failed to renew his HMO additional licence, has been told to repay rent of £1,080 to each of 3 tenants instead of the possible total of £5,400 each under a rent repayment order (RRO).

DLUHC Secretary, Michael Gove, says current damp and mould guidance for social and private rented sector landlords "varies in quality". The HHSRS hazard will also be updated and there will be a Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman under rental reform legislation.

The landlord had let his 3 storey unlicensed HMO property to the tenants, who were not related to each other, and was investigated by the council's private rented sector housing team.