The March Housing Cabinet saw the price of an HMO licence hiked by 30% to £1,150 – the highest in the south of England.
The good news is that the licence charge will now be in 2 parts – the first when you apply (to cover the cost of processing an application) and the second when the licence is granted (to cover the cost of inspecting properties and administering the scheme).This is the required legal format and it is good to see PCC finally comply.
They have also broken out the cost of enforcement – so the cost of chasing the rogues will not be paid for by the good guys as it has been for the past decade, also against government rules.
We made a delegation at the meeting arguing that:
Councillor Scott Payter-Harris (Cons) saw real merit in some of our suggestions and in discussion with council staff and the chair, Councillor Darren Sanders (LibDem) it was finally agreed to accept the current proposed price increase but to ask council staff to come back with a revised pricing structure in the Autumn based on our suggestions.
We will obviously be following this up at that time and hopefully, will have better news then. This is important as it sets a precedent for the cost of managing a licence and if, as expected, Additional Licensing is introduced to cover all HMO's in the city, these prices will hurt many more of our tenants.
You can see the video of the relevant part of the Cabinet Meeting on the member page at pdpla.com (you need to be logged in)
Martin began his landlord journey 15 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 6 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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