The Brent Council Executive on August 26th will be asked to approve a Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme in the private rented sector LINK covering Harlesden, Wembley Central and Willesden Green wards. The charge to landlords will be £350 for the 5 year licensing period.
Here Scott Bartle of Brent Green Party gives a personal view on the proposals:
Here Scott Bartle of Brent Green Party gives a personal view on the proposals:
I thoroughly disagree with Brent Council’s proposed Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme. The basic premise is that selective licensing will reduce anti-social behaviour as opposed to the version Brighton and Hove Council LINK wishes to introduce which suggests that selective licensing will help tenants with rogue landlords.
Brent Council state that selective licensing will affect people from the lowest socio-economic demographics living in the lowest cost accommodation.
Brent Council state that selective licensing will affect people from the lowest socio-economic demographics living in the lowest cost accommodation.
They are therefore in effect disparaging an entire group of people as trouble makers and are stigmatising people.
In Reference Section 7 (pg 55) of the responses they acknowledge that the examples they used as 'anti-social behaviour' are covered by existing laws and that selective licensing will not have any impact.
In Reference Section 9 (page 56) it states that:
The council full accepts that tenants rather than landlords are responsible for anti-social behaviour.
References 7 & 9 clearly go against the core premise for introduction of this scheme. In Reference Section 15 the council acknowledges that due to austerity they have resource constraints and will have difficulty implementing the policy.