Luton Council is to face yet another legal challenge as it attempts to introduce a long-delayed selective licensing scheme.

The case will return to the Court of Appeal in January after a notice of legal action was served on the council by a group of landlords and letting agents who have succeeded in halting it, along with a new additional licensing scheme, for five years.

The embattled council hopes to target five areas of the town through the scheme, which was first proposed in 2018, and suffered delays in 2020, 2023 and 2024.

It reports: “It is very disappointing that there continues to be delay in the council being able to implement these schemes as a result of these legal challenges, but we are continuing to defend our position” reports Luton Today.

Rogue landlords

The original scheme involved five areas of the town at a cost of between £30,000-£50,000,

Ghulam Abbas, the council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and Neighbourhood Services, says: “We remain committed to protecting tenants from rogue landlords and substandard housing.”

The council is recruiting 13 new posts to more than double the current private sector enforcement team.

“That should be completed this autumn and we should see a real step change in enforcement. Good quality accommodation is a basic right and it’s essential all landlords in the town act responsibly and meet the standards residents deserve.”

The Court of Appeal hearing is due to take place in January next year, he says.

If landlords raise objections, then these have to be dealt with and it’s unfortunate.”

“We’ll continue to take action against any landlords which compromise those standards and the safety of our residents. We need to follow a legal process. If landlords raise objections, then these have to be dealt with and it’s unfortunate.

“If there are judicial reviews and challenges, we accept them and take that forward. If the claimants on the other side want to keep challenging us, then we need to follow that process.”

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