Legal & General slams city’s selective licensing plans
BTR giant says selective licensing would restrict supply by forcing some landlords to sell up, and cause BTR operators much higher costs.
Private rented sector giant Legal & General has weighed in to slam Brighton & Hove council’s plan to introduce selective licensing in many areas of the city as it also plans to renew and expand its smaller HMO Additional scheme.
In a letter to the council published in a pack ahead of a decision meeting next week, Legal & General – which owns and manages thousands of BTR properties across the UK including in Brighton – says the extra costs would dampen supply by raising costs for private landlords, and impact BTR operators who would face considerably higher compliance issues.
First revealed in October last year, a consultation on the two schemes has been running since then and now, on 13th March, these will be discussed and voted through, it is expected.
The five-year term of the city’s previous city-wide Additional licensing scheme covered 1,900 HMOs across the city and came to an end earlier this year. The new and expanded version would draw in a further 300 properties.
Four areas would be covered by the new selective licencing scheme including Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina.
Responses to the consultation showed broad agreement from residents to both schemes, while landlords and agents ‘generally disagreed’.
FURTHER LICENSING
The schemes include an option to introduce a further Selective Licensing Scheme covering 13 other areas in the city to tackel poor property conditions.
These include Brunswick & Adelaide, Central Hove, Goldsmid, Hanover & Elm Grove, Hollingdean & Fiveways, Preston Park, Regency, Rottingdean & West Saltdean, Round Hill, South Portslade, West Hill & North Laine, Westbourne & Poets Corner and Wish.
Councillor Gill Williams, Chair of the Housing & New Homes Committee, says: “Improving homes across the city is a key part of our plans for a better Brighton & Hove, and private rented accommodation is an important part of the city’s housing mix and can provide people with flexible and decent homes.
“But we often hear from residents about their poor experiences and know the quality of management and maintenance is inconsistent.
“We want to raise standards in privately rented homes in the city to make sure that all tenants in the sector live in safe, healthy and well-managed homes.”
Read the council report in full.
One side effect of the licensing scheme is that it creates an artificial scarcity of rooms for sharers.
In Bristol, about half of the 3-bed properties are unlicensed, meaning that they can only be rented to couples or families. As a result, many spare rooms are empty, landlords miss out on rent, and sharers are struggling to find accommodation.
I believe the same applies to Brighton, and it can easily be addressed, as suggested in my recent article on the topic: https://www.renthappily.co.uk/news/how-to-increase-profits-and-reduce-rents