A leading selective licensing expert has called on councils to collectively take a more consistent approach to enforcing their schemes following the Rachel Reeves debacle last week, saying many letting agents and landlords face an unfairly uneven approach.

Richard Tacagni (main image) of London Property Licensing has made the comments after the Chancellor was forced to apologise and apply for a selective licence after it emerged that her letting agent had omitted to complete the application after a member of staff responsible for compliance left the business suddenly.

The London borough in which Reeve’s former home turned rental property in Dulwich is located has since said it will not be launching an investigation, citing official policy.

Reasonable

Southwark’s online guide to what happens if a property is found not have been licensed says: “If a landlord cooperates with the Council an informal approach will be adopted so long as a valid application with the appropriate fee is subsequently made within a reasonable time scale”.

Mistakes can happen and not every mistake justifies criminal sanctions.”

In response to media enquiries the council subsequently said: “When we become aware of an unlicensed property, we issue a warning letter advising the landlord that they have 21 days to apply for a license – enforcement action such as fines are reserved for those who do not apply within that time or where a property is found to be in an unsafe condition”.

But Tacagni says while he supports Southwark’s approach, too many councils have a much less forgiving attitude.

He says: “I think Southwark Council have got the balance about right and I would urge other councils to adopt a similar approach.

“Mistakes can happen and not every mistake justifies criminal sanctions. I know of other councils that issue no warning – the first a landlord or agent knows is when a notice of intent to impose a civil financial penalty drops through their letterbox several months later.”