A HIGH court judge has thrown out a London council's attempt to introduce a licensing scheme for landlords similar to that being planned by Croydon Council.
Enfield wanted to require landlords to sign up to a licence costing £500 per property over five years.
Landlord Constantinos Regas challenged the proposal in the courts and yesterday (Thursday) it was quashed at a judicial review, after a judge decided the consultation process was inadequate. Enfield Borough Council plans to appeal.
Croydon Council has consulted landlords, and is currently speaking to the wider public, about its plans to introduce a selective licensing scheme it says will help tackle antisocial behaviour and raise standards in the borough's estimated 30,000 private rented sector homes. Similar schemes have been set up by local authorities across the country.
The original plan was to charge £1,000 per property over five years but the fee has now been reduced to £750 , or £350 for landlords who apply "early" - prior to the scheme being implemented.
Critics, including the National Landlord Association (NLA) and Conservative politicians, have questioned the scale of the plan, which would cover the entire borough, and say the cost of the fee will be passed on to tenants.
Gavin Dick, local authority officer for the NLA, submitted a written question ahead of last week's full council meeting asking what would be done to mitigate that risk.
Alison Butler, cabinet member for homes and regeneration, replied that the revised charge "equates to £1.34 per week or 20p per day for landlords who choose to apply early".
In addition, she said, landlords would be able to apply for tax relief for the licence fee, "which would lower the cost to themselves further".
Cllr Butler said: "Given the rise in rents across the borough, there would be no reason for any landlord to pass on this fee to their tenants and there is no indication this has happened elsewhere.
"This administration believes those who live in the private rented sector are entitled to live in decent homes and we are committed to raising standards for families and children."
Landlords who do not sign up to the scheme could face a fine of up to £20,000.
Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, is leading a campaign against the scheme he has dubbed a "tenant tax".
He said this week: "While it is welcome that the council has retreated on the level of fee it plans to charge, the consultation process has revealed there is absolutely no evidence to support the introduction of a borough-wide scheme.
"Doing so will simply result in higher rents for law-abiding tenants, while the rogue landlords the council claims it is targeting simply won't pay."
