Agenda item

Review of the Consultation on the Implementation of Additional and Selective Licensing in a defined area of the West End of Morecambe

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Warriner)

 

Report of Chief Officer (Health & Housing)

Minutes:

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Warriner)

 

Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Health & Housing) to review the outcome of the public consultation on the introduction of licensing in a defined area in the West End of Morecambe and make a decision on an enforcement approach.

 

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

 

 

Option 1:

 

Do Nothing

Option 2:

 

Use TCA funds to introduce a trial scheme of intelligence led, targeted approach to enforcement in a defined area of the West End of Morecambe

Option 3:

 

Introduce a licensing scheme in a defined area of the West End of Morecambe

Advantages

The council operates a minimum service to meet its statutory obligation.

 

No additional costs

Intelligence gathering will identify the majority of private rented properties.

Not restricted by licensing legislation

Targets the bad landlords not the good ones.

Avoids risk of additional costs being passed onto tenants

 

Avoids risk of stigmatising the area

Consistent with enforcement outside the defined boundary where a landlord owns properties elsewhere in the district.

Takes into account the feedback from the consultation

Takes into account new enforcement powers including banning orders and rent repayments orders and civil penalties.

Builds links and collaboration with responsible landlords

Potential for increased goodwill from landlords

Cost neutral as funded from TCA

No risks of costs from challenge and judicial review

It would complement existing regeneration schemes.

If this approach doesn’t work, it is a clear indication that licensing is needed.

 

Intelligence gathering will identify all privately rented properties.

The need for a licence holder will identify a responsible person for each property.

All licence holders will have to meet a fit and proper person test

A properly administered licensing scheme should be cost neutral to the council but deliver positive benefits to the housing stock and local area.

Residents, potential residents and investors will be reassured of the council’s commitment to making improvements to the private rented sector.

A licensing scheme would complement existing regeneration programmes.

Disadvantages

The council is not taking advantage of all statutory tools available to it to improve conditions in the private rented sector.

The council is not maximising the funding offered by the TCA grant.

Investors interested in Morecambe may not be reassured of the council’s commitment to improvement of the area as a whole.

 

Problems continue to increase.

Requires alternative resourcing, as no license fees

No mandatory requirement to identify a responsible person.

No mandatory requirement to be a fit and proper person to be a landlord.

 

No mandatory requirement to register.

The scheme is restricted to one area. The boundary is not flexible.

Licensing is restricted to five years.

Large bureaucratic burden of legal paperwork.

Targets all landlords irrespective of their history of compliance, so time will be spent licensing good landlords.

 

Risks

Failure to meet the corporate priority of improvements to the private rental sector.

 

Failure to meet outcomes for TCA grant.

 

 

Issues escalate and there is no additional resource to tackle them.

Relies on collaboration with good landlords.

 

No register of landlords.

 

Level of enforcement is difficult to predict and could result in an additional cost burden to the Council, although this could happen anyway.

Restrictions on the use of fee income: enforcement requirements are difficult to predict and could result in additional cost burden to the Council.

Landlord and other opposition could make it difficult to deliver the scheme and to therefore meet objectives.

Problems identified in the proposal could displace elsewhere with no specific resource available to address this.

Complaints from landlords about increased regulation.

The possibility of rent rises with additional costs being passed on to tenants.

Increase in homelessness as some tenants become ‘too risky’.

Stigmatisation of the area.

Discouragement of investment in the defined area.

Costs to defend a scheme if faced with judicial review

 

 

The Officer Preferred Option was Option 2: use TCA funds to introduce a trial scheme of intelligence led, targeted approach to enforcement in a defined area of the West End of Morecambe.

 

The conclusion from the public consultation on the introduction of licensing welcomed the fact that the council were looking to introduce an initiative to address some of the underlying issues with the private rented sector in the West End. It was not clear that there was support for the introduction of a licensing scheme, however, a number of significant risks were identified.

 

            To take account of the outcome of the consultation and address some of these risks, it is recommended that a targeted enforcement approach be introduced in the West End of Morecambe for a defined period of time. This approach would aim to build a sustainable, collaborative approach with responsible landlords, while targeting those who don’t co-operate. It would avoid the risk of additional costs from licensing being passed on to tenants and avoid the high volume paperwork required to administer a licensing scheme. It would offer a different approach to improving conditions in an area by targeting rogue landlords, so it is likely to be supported by good and well intentioned landlords and would complement the work of the newly established anti-social behaviour team and the approach being developed by work on the Transformation Challenge Award. Targets will be developed to assess the impact of this approach to be fed into an evaluation in 18 months.   If this approach were to fail, it would be a clear indication and build a stronger case that the council should pursue licensing in the future. 

 

Councillor Warriner proposed, seconded by Councillor Hanson:-

 

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

 

Councillors then voted:-

 

Resolved unanimously:

(1)             That the outcome of the public consultation on the possible introduction of licensing in a defined area in the West End of Morecambe be noted.

(2)             That, based on the feedback from the consultation, Cabinet agree to trial an alternative approach to additional and selective licensing as outlined in the report, which involves targeted enforcement of those landlords who are failing to meet and maintain standards. 

(3)              That approval be given to the designation of the area referred to in the report, and defined in the map set out in Appendix 1 to the report, as being subject to the targeted enforcement programme.

(4)             That the trial referred to in (3) be implemented for a period of not more than 18 months (using existing Transformational Challenge Award grant) with a report back to Cabinet following this. This would include an evaluation of the alternative approach to enable Cabinet to consider its’ effectiveness and whether there was still a case for considering the introduction of additional and selective licensing.

 

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

 

Chief Officer (Health & Housing)

 

Reasons for making the decision:

 

Improvements in the private rented sector and housing renewal in the West End of Morecambe were identified as priorities in the 2016 -2020 Corporate Plan to support positive improvements in the health and wellbeing of residents in the district. An alternative approach to licensing by using an intelligence led targeted approach to enforcement will address some of the concerns and risks identified by the consultation while delivering the same objectives.

Supporting documents: