Renters’ union Acorn is calling on Leeds City Council to introduce a landlord licensing scheme across the city in a bid to improve housing standards in the private rented sector.
The housing campaigners argue that there are far too many private landlords in the city offer substandard housing and it wants the council to take action.
Many tenants are living with faulty electrics, leaks in their ceilings and mould, the renters’ union said.
Mick Haworth, secretary of Leeds Acorn, expressed a desire to see all private landlords in the city signed up to a licensing scheme meaning their properties would need to meet certain standards.
He said: “You need a licence to drive a car or sell alcohol, you need a licence to house dogs in a kennel.
“I think it’s reasonable that you would need a licence to house people.”
Haworth said he received daily calls and emails from tenants about “unsafe” housing.
He added: “What makes it worse is that they are often paying up to half of their income on these properties with no real alternative.”
Leeds City Council launched a landlord licensing scheme covering rental properties in Harehills and Beeston in 2019.
It means landlords must pay an £825 fee for each property to be registered and inspected.
A spokesperson for the council commented: “The council has and will continue to use all the powers available to it and keep its options open as to how best to ensure that all have a good quality home in which to live.”
Comments (4)
1. Acorn need to mind their own business, they are not relevant.
2. If a property has faulty electrics, how on earth does a licence make a difference? Landlords are already required by law to ensure that a property is eclectically safe. It is a criminal offence not to and comes with fines of up to £30,000 – if that’s not being listened to, why on earth would they care about a licence?
3. Meet certain standards… such as those imposed by HHSRS, The Homes Act 2018 or any other plethora of legislation / regulation?
4. The PRS is infinitely ahead of social housing in terms of standards. To claim otherwise is laughable.
5. The council DOES have the powers available to enforce the decent homes standard. Whether or not they do enforce it is somewhat a different matter.
Great words AW:
2. If a property has faulty electrics, how on earth does a licence make a difference? Landlords are already required by law to ensure that a property is eclectically safe. It is a criminal offence not to and comes with fines of up to £30,000 – if that’s not being listened to, why on earth would they care about a licence
That’s what’s happened in Nottm, the same Landlords just han’t bothered Licensing.
It means landlords must pay an £825 fee for each property to be registered and inspected.
CRIMINAL.
Why would a renters Union call for something that makes rents more expensive for tenants? And reduces supply? That’s OK if all tenants were on good money, but they not.
Most tenants can’t afford New build standards. Give then choice, they’d rather a good house for £700pm instead of New build for £1000pm.
Go get them with the faulty electrics then cause they don’t enrol for Licensing anyway. The good Landlords good tenants with good houses pay for Licensing when nothing wrong with their house, so this extra cost just makes their rent more expensive. The proof we have of this now is all out there.
Give me a ONE license then to run all my houses.
And come MOT every house. That’s how it should be done.
Haworth, has any of my tenants rang u to say they’ve just had a new boiler or new kitchen?
Have they rang u to say they paying £500pm when their neighbour paying £800pm?
U only hear from the minority bad ones.