Of the estimated 20,000 landlords in the area, 5,000 have signed up for a licence, of which 4,000 have been approved by the council.
Unlicensed landlords could face a £300 additional “finders’ fee” and a fine of up to £20,000.
Head of Brent Council housing and development, Cllr Margaret McLennan, attempted to put of positive spin on the figures -
Head of Brent Council housing and development, Cllr Margaret McLennan, attempted to put of positive spin on the figures -
“It is fantastic to reach this milestone of 5,000 applications but there are still many more rental properties in Brent that need a licence.
We want to work with the good landlords to drive out the minority of bad ones and so I thank all of those landlords who have already shown their co-operation and submitted their applications to us.”
We want to work with the good landlords to drive out the minority of bad ones and so I thank all of those landlords who have already shown their co-operation and submitted their applications to us.”
However, I just wonder how many of the 5,000 landlords who've signed up are the 'rogue landlords' the scheme is attempting to control?
Probably not many, if any at all, but at least the council might have raised a bit of extra revenue and wasn't that always the real purpose....
There is a word to describe the spin by Cllr Margaret McLennan but I cannot use it in public. The good landlords are financially penalised while the bad slip under the radar. When will councils admit that licensing is a cash cow and has very little to do with standards.
ReplyDeleteIf licences were free how many councils would bother?