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Landlord Licensing Scheme in Liverpool

Published On: April 1, 2015 at 9:43 am

Tags: landlord licensing,liverpool landlord licensing scheme,rental property licensing

From 1^st April 2015, all private landlords in the city of Liverpool must apply for a five-year license for each of their rental homes, under the Landlord Licensing Scheme.

The system is being launched in Liverpool under the Government’s selective licensing laws, and signing up is compulsory.

The benefits

All licensed landlords in Liverpool will be subject to a fit and proper persons inspection. Before being given a license, landlords will be asked to declare convictions for dishonesty, violence, drug-related offences, or for breaching any housing/landlord/tenant laws.

Landlord Licensing Scheme in Liverpool

Properties owned by licensed landlords must meet fire, electric and gas safety standards and be in a good state of repair. Landlords must also deal effectively with any complaints about their tenants.

Exemptions

Properties with a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) license are exempt. There are additional exemptions for other circumstances. The full list of exemptions can be found here.

Applying

The first stage of applying is to register your contact details with Liverpool City Council, and to list the properties that you own.

Once registered, the Council will contact you to let you know how and when to complete the second part of the process, and how and when to pay.

If the application process is not started by 1^st April 2015, you may be charged an administration fee or face prosecution. You can start the application here.

If you choose to complete the application offline, you can download and complete the forms from the Liverpool City Council website.

The cost

The fees detailed below apply only to online applications. For landlords who do not want to apply online, the Council will help, but will charge a fee for doing so. You can find contact details here if you do not wish to apply online.

First property: £400
Each additional property: £350
Properties in an approved scheme: £200

Approved schemes

The £200 rate is available to members of the CLASS Accredited Landlord Scheme and other organisations that opt to enter Liverpool City Council’s co-regulation initiative.

However, no organisations are yet to sign up to this initiative and the Council are yet to inform them of how to do so. Once these details are in place, the Council will publish information on their website.

Liverpool Launches Landlord Licensing Scheme

Published On: February 23, 2015 at 5:06 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlord licensing uk,liverpool landlord licensing scheme,private rental sector licensing

Liverpool City Council has launched a licensing scheme for private landlords.

The Labour council is now accepting applications from landlords in the private rental sector under the scheme, which will cover around 50,000 properties. From 1^st April 2015, all private landlords in the city must apply for a five-year license per property. The licence will be applied under existing selective licensing legislation.

Before being offered a licence, landlords must have a fit and proper persons test, and declare any convictions relating to dishonesty, violence, drug-related offences, or breaches of tenancy law. Licensed landlords must then meet safety standards, and keep their rental homes in a good state of repair.

Liverpool Launches Landlord Licensing Scheme

Licenses will cost £400 for the first property, and £350 for every property after that. Properties owned by landlords belonging to a council-approved accreditation scheme will only cost £200.

Cabinet Member for Housing at Liverpool City Council, Ann O’Byrne, says: “We are concerned about a number of landlords who rent properties which fail to meet satisfactory standards of tenancy and property management.”¹

The National Landlords Association (NLA), has responded by saying that the scheme, “will do little or nothing to hinder the actions of criminals.”¹

Local Authority Policy Officer at the NLA, Gavin Dick, says: “However, the burden of the selective licensing scheme, which Liverpool City Council will be implementing, will be shouldered by reputable landlords who will feel compelled to comply with this heavy-handed regulation.”¹

Liverpool is the first major northern city to apply a whole city private rental sector licensing scheme, however, some Labour-led London boroughs have done so too. Newham Council launched a citywide scheme in January 2013, and Barking and Dagenham Council did in September.

Waltham Forest Council is also proposing a scheme to be brought in from April.

Labour is planning for private landlords to be required to sign up to a national register, to make it easier for councils who want to introduce schemes to identify landlords of certain properties.

The party has vowed to remove obstacles that prevent councils from enforcing borough or citywide schemes.

At present, councils can only apply for selective licensing in areas where they can prove there is low demand or anti-social behaviour.

¹http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/liverpool-introduces-city-wide-prs-licensing-scheme/7008419.article

Posts with tag: liverpool landlord licensing scheme

Landlord Licensing Scheme in Liverpool

Liverpool Launches Landlord Licensing Scheme