What is landlord licensing
The Housing Act 2004 requires local authorities to licence privately rented dwellings in three categories:
- Mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) with 3 or more storeys, 5 or more people and 2 or more households
- Additional licensing of HMOs excluded from the above
- Selective licensing of other private dwellings where the local authority considers it will benefit tenants and communities, in areas of low demand and/or areas with problems of anti-social behaviour
At present Salford Council only operates two of the schemes, Mandatory HMO and Selective Licensing
Why introduce licensing
Licensing has been introduced to:
- Tackle the issue of anti-social behaviour - crime/vandalism
- Deal with the issue of low demand - area decline/area abandonment
- Reduce the risk of fire in a house in multiple occupation
- Support inexperienced landlords
- Engage with those landlords who's management arrangements are unsatisfactory
What are the benefits of licensing?
The benefits of licensing are:
- Reduce anti-social behaviour
- Support & training for responsible landlords
- Halt area decline
- Better housing standards for private tenants
- Benefit to wider community and business
- Long term economic benefits
This page was last updated on 4 October 2009
