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PCC Plan Licensing Increases

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Landlords of 'Mandatory HMOs' in Portsmouth received a nice questionnaire asking if they thought it was a good idea that good landlords were charged less for their licence than bad landlords.

We were surprised at the number of members who complained to us about the 'loaded question'  

What?

Our guess is that at the next Housing Cabinet meeting at the end of September, PCC Private Sector Housing will ask permission to increase the cost of a Mandatory Licence but also, to introduce a staggered scheme as is the case with Additional Licensing so that only the top 10-20% of landlords qualify for a 5-year licence and the rest end up paying considerably more over the 5 year period for two licences covering 2.5 years each or worse, five 1-year licences.

The complaints were mainly from landlords who have had large HMOs for years, they have paid their 5-year fee, been inspected, kept their properties up to standard and never had an issue - now when they come to renew, if this new scheme is introduced, they will not qualify for a 5-year licence unless they sign up for an accreditation scheme and also provide a lot more in terms of paperwork than has been the case in the past.

Sadly, all of this bureaucracy costs money, it diverts attention from managing properties and ends up costing tenants more. 

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About the author

Martin Silman

Martin began his landlord journey 18 years ago, while working in an international role for a global telecommunications company. Since retiring he has extended his portfolio, which he manages with his wife, but has always focussed on the ‘small student HMO’ sector preferring to offer homes in the community for small groups to the more common ‘pack them in and take the money’ mentality. He has chaired the PDPLA for the past 9 years and has overseen the Associations transition from small local self-help group to a much larger and more professional institution which is recognised and listened to nationally. Alongside his PDPLA role, he also has leadership roles in a number of other local organisations – bringing his unique perspective, driving for change and increased use of technology while respecting the history that brought us here.

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