Manchester City Council has extended its landlord licensing scheme to the owners and agents of 1,863 more flats and houses, who will be required to apply for a licence to continue to let out their homes.
The areas of Longsight and Cheetham are most affected by the expansion of the selective licensing scheme. More than 1,000 privately rented properties in these towns will now be required to have a licence.
Certain landlords in Crumpsall, Harpurhey, Miles Platting and Newton Heath and Moss Side will also be subject to the expansion.
For the latest designated licensing areas, the council has specifically targeted homes on the basis of property condition and antisocial behaviour linked to waste management problems.
How does selective licensing work?
Introduced in the Housing Act 2004, selective licensing requires all private landlords operating within a designated area to license any privately rented homes located in that area.
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Areas remain under the powers of the scheme for five years, which include statutory and general conditions aimed at ensuring licensed properties are safe, meet basic standards and are managed in a satisfactory way.
Since 2017, more than 3,500 homes across the city have been fully licensed in Manchester. During that time, more than 1,000 compliance inspections have been carried out that have identified more than 1,700 hazards that required addressing by the property owner.
Following public consultation, licensing can be introduced if an area is experiencing significant and persistent problems or is likely to develop such problems. These include antisocial behaviour, poor property conditions, high levels of migration, high levels of deprivation, high levels of crime and low housing demand.
Holding landlords to account
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “We know that there are currently fewer regulations and therefore less protection against poor housing in the private sector than other forms of rental homes such as social rent properties. This means that there [are] a minority of landlords who we have found do not take the responsibility for their property, the safety of their tenants, nor the impact of their property on the wider community seriously enough.
“This is by no means every landlord and most work hard to make sure the properties they let are safe and of a good standard. But selective licensing is one of the ways we can hold landlords… to account and drive up standards for our residents.”
