Rotherham Council’s consultation on its proposals to extend its current selective licensing scheme and hike its fees by over 50% has been heavily criticised by Independent councillor Taiba Yasseen (main picture).

In a recent meeting, Yasseen gave Labour councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing Sarah Allen a grilling for both the Council’s failure to maintain decent standards in its own housing and its mishandling of the consultation process, calling it ‘Misleading, confusing and inaccessible’.

Treating landlords as adversaries

She also accused her of treating landlords as adversaries, telling her she should instead try to work with them, an accusation Allen denied.

Yasseen’s main concern, however, was that the council’s proposed fee increase from its current £521 to a £785 maintenance fee and a £210 admin fee, would result in landlords putting up rents, making them unaffordable for the borough’s poorest residents.

Yasseen asked Allen: “With the council already struggling to accommodate rising homelessness cases, can you guarantee that those affected won’t end up in Carlton Park Hotel or other hotels due to an inability to pay higher rents?”

Landlords can pay

Councillor Allen responded by suggesting that the fee didn’t have to be passed on to tenants. She said: “The landlord can decide, as part of their social conscience, not do so.”

Then added: “The current license fee of £521 has already been a feature of the housing market for the last five years, and without significant homelessness being attributed to the selective licensing declaration.”

“The alternative to this sort of scheme is that a significant number of Rotherham residents are forced into accommodation that’s not safe, and not for human habitation.”

The consultation will close on 17 March and further information about the proposals and how to respond can be found on the council’s website.

Read more about selective licensing.