Agenda item

To consider the progress of the Central Selective Licensing Scheme and associated Housing Enforcement actions to improve and regulate the private rented sector.

The Committee received a progress update on the Central Selective Licensing Scheme and associated Housing Enforcement actions aimed at improving and regulating the private rented sector. Ms Alex Bracken, Housing Enforcement Manager provided an overview of the scheme, informing the Committee that Selective Licensing was a discretionary licensing scheme covering those privately rented properties which were not covered by mandatory or additional licensing. Selective Licensing was intended to address the impact of poor quality privately rented properties, lack of management by landlords and to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour. Ms Bracken explained that as Blackpool already had existing licensing schemes operating in 2018, the Council required permission from the Secretary of State to introduce the new Selective Licensing Scheme in the Central area of the town. This had been approved in December 2018 and came into force on 26 March 2019. Committee members were told that the Scheme applied to the area which formed part of Talbot, Brunswick and Bloomfield wards and that it would cease to have effect on 25 March 2024. Ms Bracken advised that the Central Additional Licensing Scheme would cease to have effect in July 2021, with 339 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) currently being licensed under this Scheme.

Ms Bracken outlined the key facts of the Central Selective Licensing Scheme, informing the Committee that 1712 properties had been licensed, with fees to the sum of £947,890 having been collected. Committee members were informed that the cost of a licence was £775 (£542 with 30 per cent discount) for a single occupancy property, with multiple units up to two costing £1,090 (£775 with 30 per cent discount) and £68 for every additional unit over two. To date, 1422 landlords had applied for the Blackpool Standards which allowed for a 30 per cent reduction of the cost of a licence. In terms of enforcement, Ms Bracken reported eight prosecution cases for failure to license had been pursued and three civil penalties for failure to license in the Central Selective Licensing area had resulted in fines of £2500 each. She explained that a civil penalty was an alternative to a prosecution case and resulted in a fine that would be paid to the Council. The Committee was informed that other prosecutions and civil penalty cases had continued across Blackpool regarding breaches of enforcement notices and HMO management regulations, with a recent prosecution case in the magistrate’s court resulting in a fine of £24,121.

Ms Bracken reported that Blackpool had received funding from central government as one of five areas in the country to contribute to a national pilot looking at how far enforcement could be taken in respect of regulating the supported housing sector and whether improvements could be made. The new scheme brought in officers from other areas such as Social Services, Housing Benefits, Corporate Fraud, Housing Enforcement, Fire Service and Planning Enforcement and provided a means for a multi-agency approach to look at how accommodation could be improved. The Committee was informed that the pilot would run from November 2020 to December 2021 with the aim of reviewing all the supported accommodation provision in Blackpool during that period.

The Committee was informed that since the commencement of the Central Selective Licensing Scheme in March 2019, the Housing Enforcement Team had continued to undertake full Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) assessments in response to poor housing conditions. Ms Bracken identified that 80 per cent of those assessments undertaken had involved a deficiency in heating provisions and the Housing Enforcement Team was assisting vulnerable tenants to deal with fuel poverty by engaging with energy companies, working directly with landlords and involving support agencies. The number of chargeable enforcement notices had increased over the last five years, with Ms Bracken explaining that an enforcement notice was charged at £430, with the numbers having increased to the highest level during the pandemic across 2020/2021 at 48 notices compared to 27 in 2016/2017.    

Committee members were informed that the Selective Licensing Scheme had been introduced in the Central area in order to deal with high levels of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) officers were funded by the scheme to deal proactively with reducing anti-social behaviour and to engage with landlords, communities and tenants. Ms Bracken noted that high levels of multi-agency work with Public Protection Officers, the Police and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services had continued throughout the pandemic in the Central area to ensure anti-social behaviour and Covid-19 regulations were being effectively enforced.

The Committee questioned whether the scheme offered good value for money for landlords and queried whether the high level of enforcement indicated that the scheme was perhaps not working effectively. Ms Bracken clarified that the Selective Licensing Scheme operated in addition to the usual enforcement processes and had the specific aim of addressing and reducing incidences of anti-social behaviour and ensuring effective management of properties by landlords. In terms of offering value for money, Ms Bracken highlighted that the Licensing Scheme included the services of an ASB officer who provided support in dealing with tenants engaging in anti-social behaviour. The ASB officer would work proactively with landlords as well as targeting ineffective landlords who were not adequately managing their properties and tenants. The Scheme also included subsidised training for landlords and advice regarding tackling fuel poverty and encouraging more efficient fuel use.

In response to a question on the future of the Central Selective Licensing Scheme, Ms Bracken advised that the Scheme would continue until 2024 and that a feasibility study was planned in order to consider the extension of the Scheme beyond that date.

The Committee discussed the benefits of maintaining a central database to identify those properties which had evidenced compliance with fire and health and safety regulations, with Ms Bracken advising that both announced and unannounced visits occurred to check that regulation standards were being met. She added that a full database was maintained and that close working with the fire service had been established.

Ms Bracken noted that Blackpool Council was consistently proactive with regards to enforcement and used all available tools and legislation, up to and including prosecution where necessary to ensure a clear message was being communicated to landlords across the town.

The Committee thanked Ms Bracken for attending and extended praise to her team for all their efforts.

[Ms Bracken left the meeting on conclusion of this item.]