Major SW city launches plans to clamp down on rented properties
Bristol says it wants to bring in a city-wide HMO scheme and a larger set of selective licensing zones as part of plans to regulate landlords and letting agents.
Letting agents and landlords in the SW face a new regulatory onslaught after Bristol City Council revealed plans to launch new rented property licensing schemes.
The council has put forward plans within a consultation that will see all small HMOs required to be licenced within the city, while selective licensing is to be introduced in the Bishopston and Ashley Down, Cotham, and Easton wards.
Bristol wants to introduce the schemes because, it claims, previous ones have been a success.Its first discretionary scheme ran from 2013 to 2018 in the Stapleton Road area and licensed 1,207 properties.
Serious hazard
Of these, 396 properties had at least one serious hazard resolved, 845 required improvements to meet licensing conditions, and 10 landlords were prosecuted for 37 offences.
The Eastville and St George selective and additional licensing scheme ran from 2016 to 2021, issuing 3,316 licences.
It reports that 3,019 properties were improved to meet licensing standards, and 675 had fire safety improvements made. An additional HMO licensing scheme is now in place in 12 central Bristol wards, which will run until July 2024, alongside Horfield, Bedminster and Brislington West, which were added last April.
Landlords
Councillor Tom Renhard, cabinet member for housing delivery and homes, says it will write to landlords and tenants during a consultation on the additional and selective schemes that closes on 7th November.
He promises landlords will be offered advice and guidance on the improvements required to ensure their properties comply with licensing conditions.
Renhard adds that those in private rented accommodation have lived for too long without adequate protections and very limited options to guarantee decent living standards.
“While we know that the majority of landlords offer good quality homes and have positive relationships with their tenants, these additional measures would allow us to take action where this is not the case,” he says.
The council has also been investigating the potential impact of rent regulation across the city.
This scheme is already in operation in most of Bristol, and misinformation or lack of adequate guidance means that many properties are unlicensed and rented at reduced capacity. Applying for the license can INCREASE LANDLORD’S REVENUES whilst REDUCING RENTS per tenant, as I explain in my article below.
https://www.renthappily.co.uk/news/how-to-increase-profits-and-reduce-rents