Work will begin to introduce a new Additional Licensing Scheme for smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and a Selective Licensing Scheme for certain private rented homes in 4 city wards following agreement at last night’s Housing & New Homes Committee.
We will be publishing a designation notice for the Additional Licensing Scheme next week to begin a 3 month notice period and introduce the scheme by the summer.
The Selective Licensing scheme will initially cover the Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina wards. We will issue a designation notice shortly with a view to introducing the scheme in September.
The aim is to drive improvement in conditions and management standards in the city’s expanding private rented housing sector, with nearly a third of households in the city renting privately.
Consultations on the schemes, which ran between October 2023 and January 2024, received broad agreement from residents to both schemes, while landlords and agents generally disagreed.
Additional and selective licensing are schemes local authorities can introduce to address issues such as poor management standards and poor property conditions.
While many landlords run their properties responsibly, issues reported through the council show that management, standards and quality of private rented homes are not consistent.
The city-wide Additional Licensing Scheme will cover smaller HMOs with fewer occupants than properties accommodating 5 or more people over 2 or more households which fall under the Mandatory HMO Licensing Scheme.
We estimate the Additional HMO licensing scheme across the city will cover around 2,200 properties.
The previous 5-year term of the city-wide Additional HMO Licensing Scheme ended last year.
This additional licensing scheme covered around 1,900 HMOs across the city and allowed us to work closely with landlords to improve properties.
A number of licence conditions were set through the scheme, resulting in improvements made to management, building and safety standards that benefitted around 5,500 tenants.
The Selective Licensing scheme will initially be introduced to cover certain rented homes in the Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina wards, where evidence demonstrates a clear link between poor property conditions, and private rented homes.
This scheme will be introduced in the autumn and will cover an estimated 2,100 private rented homes.
Subject to approval by the Secretary of State, we’re also proposing the introduction of a second stage of the Selective Licensing Scheme to cover 13 wards on the grounds of poor property conditions.
These wards are Brunswick & Adelaide, Central Hove, Goldsmid, Hanover & Elm Grove, Hollingdean & Fiveways, Preston Park, Regency, Rottingdean & West Saltdean, Round Hill, South Portslade, West Hill & North Laine, Westbourne & Poets Corner and Wish.
The plan is to seek Secretary of State approval 6 months after the launch of the initial Selective Licensing Scheme to allow time to carry out the preparation work required.
Councillor Gill Williams, chair of the Housing & New Homes Committee, said: “I'm very excited we will be introducing these 2 licensing schemes, aiming to help tackle the problem of landlords who fail to manage and maintain their properties.
“Improving homes across the city is a key part of our plans for a better Brighton & Hove, and we want to make sure that all tenants in the private rented accommodation live in safe, healthy and well-managed homes.
“Private rented accommodation is an important part of the city’s housing mix and can provide people with flexible and decent homes.
“But we often hear from residents about their poor experiences and know the quality of management and maintenance is inconsistent.
“The benefits are multiple. It leads to better managed, safer and fit to occupy properties for tenants and reduces levels of deprivation for the wider community.
“It also supports our work to prevent homelessness through reducing abrupt end of tenancies through early intervention and dialogue.
“They can also benefit landlords by putting us in a better position to help them improve and maintain their properties. It isn’t only about dealing with problem landlords.”
