Luton Borough Council (LBC) have introduced a Selective Licensing Scheme across 5 areas of Luton. From the 1st August 2020 every landlord letting residential accommodation within the designated areas can apply for a licence.
It will be a criminal offence for a landlord to let a property in a designated area without a licence.
You can find out more about this Selective Licensing Scheme and the reasons why it has been introduced by clicking here.
The areas affected are:
Applications made
In addition we will be charging £30inc VAT per property to assist with making the applications. Our charges will be capped to a maximum of £120inc VAT per landlord.
The following documents will also be required to obtain a licence:
We can assist in providing you with the paperwork required to complete the application, but are not able to make the application on your behalf.
We understand that this new requirement will create an administrative burden for landlords. Please be assured we are making every effort to work with the Council to try and make this process as simple as possible.
We can help our Fully Managed clients with the Selective Licensing Application Process.
To use the service, please email licence@lenwell.com
Provide us with:
Confirm:
We will assume the individual detailed on the driving licence will be the owner and the Selective Licence holder.
We will then complete the online application on your behalf and upload the required documents.
You will then receive an email back from us with a link to the completed application for you to confirm and make payment direct to the Council.
Section 80 of the Housing Act 2004 gives powers to councils to designate areas, or the whole of the area within their district, as subject to selective licensing (requiring every privately rented residential property to be licensed) provided certain conditions are met:
the area is experiencing low housing demand (or is likely to become such an area) and we are satisfied that making a designation will, when combined with other measures contribute to an improvement in the social or economic conditions in the area.
OR
The area is experiencing a significant and persistent problem caused by anti-social behaviour and that some or all private sector landlords in the area are not taking appropriate action to combat the problem that it would be appropriate for them to take; and the making of a designation, when combined with other measures taken by us, or by us in conjunction with others, will lead to a reduction in, or elimination of, the problem.
OR any of the following conditions:
That the area contains a high proportion of properties in the private rented sector, in relation to the total number of properties in the area.
That the properties above are occupied either under assured tenancies or licences to occupy.
AND
That having carried out a review of housing conditions we consider a significant number of properties should be inspected, with a view to enforcement; making a designation will contribute to an improvement in general housing conditions.
OR
The area is experiencing an influx of migration; a significant number of the properties are occupied by those migrants; making a designation will contribute to the improvement of social or economic conditions in the area and ensuring that the properties are properly managed and overcrowding is prevented.
OR
That the area is suffering from a high level of deprivation and that making a designation will contribute to a reduction in the level of deprivation.
OR
That the area suffers from a high level of crime; the criminal activity affects those living in the premises or other households or businesses in the area; making a designation will contribute to a reduction in the level of crime
We will be holding a number of webinars, you can access them here:
Alternatively if you have specific questions please contact our Luton office on 01582 61 62 63 or email us at luton@lenwell.com