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Licensing campaign causes confusion |
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Friday, 02 June 2006 |
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A national advertising campaign which was launched by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) last month, caused widespread confusion amongst landlords and letting agents. Advertisements entitled 'No property Licence, No Rent' implied that all landlords and properties needed to be licenced, or they would face loss of rent and fines of up to £20,000.
The reality is that the licensing regime in most local authority areas only applies to particular types of houses in multiple occupation (HMO). All HMOs let to five or more occupiers and having three or more floors require a licence from 6 April 2006. Although Government sought to allay fears that this would be a complex and expensive process, many landlords are already warning that the process will involve significant extra expenditure upgrading fire doors and installing wash hand basins in every bedroom. One London landlord featured in the Daily Telegraph faces major works in 18 of his 20 properties under the new rules. He commented "Landlords will have to fork out tens of thousands of pounds to comply in these properties. Rents will go through the roof and private landlords will sell their properties." |
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