Wandsworth Council Considers Landlord Licensing Scheme
Measures to protect private renters from unscrupulous landlords to be debated
Scheme would require landlords to meet certain standards before letting a property
Proposals have been brought forward by Wandsworth Council’s Housing Committee to set up a review into the feasibility of introducing discretionary landlord licencing in an attempt to improve standards in the Private Renter Sector and crack down on rogue landlords.
The Private Rented Sector continues to grow significantly in London, providing a crucial role in meeting the housing requirements of residents. In Wandsworth, the Private Rented Sector constitutes nearly a third of all housing stock in the borough.
The standards of delivery within the Private Rented Sector can vary widely – while most are responsible and upstanding, there exists a rogue landlord element that deliver substandard, and sometimes overcrowded and dangerous dwellings which has a knock-on effect to the wider community in the form of anti-social behaviour, noise nuisance and other associated problems.
If these proposals are approved by the Executive Committee, the council will begin a review into assessing the need of additional and selective licencing within the Private Rented Sector.
In the committee report, it is noted that some of the potential benefits of such a scheme could include: improvement in the condition and quality of properties in the Private Rented Sector; the prevention of absentee or unfit landlords; increased responsibility required of landlords in the management of behaviour of their tenants; and, increased support for tenants.
Similar schemes have been adopted by other local authorities but have sometimes been criticised by opponents who say they drive up the cost of renting as licensing fees are passed on to tenants.
Councillor Aydin Dikerdem, Cabinet Member for Housing, said, “As a council, we have a commitment to all of our residents to ensure that they are in safe, secure and well-managed homes. That is why we are looking to increase support for tenants by recommending this review into discretionary licences in the Private Rented Sector.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
October 7, 2022