CIEH urges new Government to help councils use licensing schemes to improve housing standards

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has written to Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, urging the new Government to make it easier for councils in England to use licensing schemes to improve housing standards.

Licensing provides a means for local authorities to inspect privately rented housing using enforceable conditions - and to identify and resolve problems - without the need for tenants to have complained.

Selective licensing schemes involve designated areas where privately rented properties have to be licensed with the local authority.

CIEH is urging the Government to use the legislation on the private rented sector that is expected to be announced in the King’s Speech as an opportunity to address this issue.

Mark Elliott, President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said:

“There are several ways in which the Government could make it easier for local authorities to use licensing schemes to improve housing standards.

Firstly, the Government should enable local authorities operating selective licensing schemes to use licence conditions to improve housing conditions. There is currently a peculiar disconnect in the legislation whereby local authorities can introduce selective licensing schemes to address poor housing conditions but cannot include a directly enforceable requirement relating to housing condition as a condition of the licence itself.

Secondly, the Government should increase the maximum duration of discretionary licensing schemes from five to ten years. Discretionary licensing schemes, which include selective licensing schemes and additional licensing schemes for houses in multiple occupation with less than five occupiers, are very expensive and time consuming for local authorities to introduce. The proposed change would allow local authorities to advertise longer term posts and to include training of new staff in discretionary licensing schemes.

Thirdly, the Government should remove the Secretary of State’s ability to veto selective licensing schemes covering more than 20% of the local authority area. The introduction of selective licensing schemes involves considerable uncertainty when the schemes are subject to the Secretary of State’s ability to veto them.

Fourthly, the Government should ensure that national landlord registration is used as a tool to support the use of licensing schemes by local authorities.

We hope that Angela Rayner and her team will work with us to address these points.”