Selective Licensing Scheme Update Portfolio Holder: Councillor Barbara Brownridge

Home , Hathershaw

Report to OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BOARD

Officer Contact: Helen Lockwood – Executive Director Economy, Skills & Neighbourhoods

Report Author: Neil Crabtree, Head of Public Protection. Ext. 4141

14th March 2017

Purpose of the Report

To provide an update on the progress of the Selective Licensing Scheme.

Recommendations

That members of the Overview and Scrutiny board note the progress of the scheme as detailed in the report and agree the reporting mechanisms outlined in paragraph 3.5 and 3.6 of the report

Overview and Scrutiny Board 14th March 2017

Selective Licensing Scheme Update

1 Background

1.1 The Housing Act 2004 introduced Selective Licensing. Selective Licensing is a tool that local authorities can use to deal with areas that are low demand, or where areas are experiencing a significant and persistent problem caused by anti-social behaviour. Once a Selective Licensing area has been designated any private rented property must apply for a licence with the Council. Once the licence is granted the licence holder must adhered to licence conditions. The licence conditions relate to the management and condition of the property. In order to obtain a licence the licence holder must be the appropriate person to hold the licence, be a fit and proper person and have competency in managing a property.

1.2 Legislation has provided tools to deal with property standards, but not to deal with how a property is being managed until the Selective Licensing tool.

1.3 A Selective Licensing of Private Landlords Report was approved by Cabinet in March 2014. This report provided statistical evidence that some areas of Oldham are exhibiting signs of low housing demand as defined by the legislation and Officers sought approval to commence an extensive consultation exercise to establish whether the declaration of a selective licensing scheme is needed.

1.4 In December 2014 Selective Licensing of Private Landlords Consultation Final Proposals Report was approved by Cabinet. The report detailed the outcome of the consultation and was seeking consideration of whether to designate a selective licensing scheme. A Selective Licensing Scheme was approved in St Mary’s, Hathershaw, Waterhead, Primrose Bank, Hollinwood, Oldham Edge, Alexandra & Coldhurst.

1.5 In March 2015 a Selective Licensing Phased Implementation was approved by cabinet. This enabled the areas to commence on the following dates:

St Mary’s 1st May 2015 Hathershaw & Waterhead 6th July 2015 Primrose Bank & Hollinwood 1st September 2015 Alexandra, Oldham Edge & Coldhurst 1st January 2016

2 Current Position

2.1 All the designated Selective Licensing areas are now in effect with all areas being in Year 2 of the scheme.

2.2 There are currently 5 Full Time and 1 Part Time Selective Licensing Officers on a fixed term contract until December 2017. Selective Licensing Officers are responsible for ensuring licence applications are being received, assess and process applications,

assisting & advising landlords and tenants, taking legal proceedings against landlords who fail to apply for a licence or breach licence conditions, conducting condition audits & any other duties that are necessary in order to progress the scheme and achieve the schemes objectives. The scheme and the performance of the team are managed by the Assistant Principal Selective Licensing who is also responsible for monitoring the budget as well as outcome development as the scheme progresses. The Scheme is overseen by the Environmental Health Manager and the Head of Service for Public Protection. The team has 1 Full Time Business Support Officer who supports the team with all aspects of the Selective Licensing Scheme.

2.3 The table below shows to date the number of applications received, the number of licences granted and the number of Prosecutions successfully taken for Failure to Licence for each Selective Licensing area.

Selective No of Applications. No of Licences No of Prosecutions. Licensing Area. Granted.

St Mary’s 192 138 6 Hathershaw 245 167 2 Waterhead 343 197 2 Primrose Bank 243 108 0 Hollinwood 127 75 0 Oldham Edge 41 16 2 Alexandra 80 11 0 Coldhurst 75 26 0 Total 1346 738 12

2.4 There are a further 19 cases being prepared for Legal proceedings for Failure to Licence.

2.5 31 Warrants have been granted by the Magistrates Courts and executed at properties where information has been received that the property requires a licence and a licence has not been applied for. The visits are conducted in Partnership with the Greater Manchester Police and Immigration Enforcement.

2.7 No licences applications have been refused. However there is a proposed licence holder of several properties who under the criteria of the legislation, would fail the fit and proper criteria. Once the investigations have been completed, this case would be refer to a Fit and Proper Person Panel to determine the outcome of the application.

2.8 Following the prosecution of a landlord for failure to licence, the Council can apply for a Rent Repayment Order. An application is made to the First Property Tribunal for any Housing Benefit paid for the rent of the property while the property was unlicensed and should have been licensed to be paid back to the Council. The process for this application is currently being developed.

2.9 The team through a variety of methods are determining the tenure of all the properties within the Selective Licensing areas. This enables resources to be targeted on the rented properties where a licence has not been applied for. It is envisaged that this work will be complete by the 31st March 2017.

The table below shows the total number of properties within each Selective Licensing area, the number of rented properties where a licence has not been applied for and the number of properties where the tenure is still to be determined.

Selective Total No of No of No of known Tenure unknown. Licensing Area. properties. Licences Unlicensed Granted. properties.

St Mary’s 922 138 73 30 Hathershaw 2484 167 250 771 Waterhead 2673 197 353 650 Primrose Bank 1940 108 210 563 Hollinwood 1749 75 192 291 Oldham Edge 1106 16 84 16 Alexandra 1020 11 107 414 Coldhurst 1706 26 306 263 13,600 738 1,575 2,998

2.10 Budget

The table below shows the projected income from the scheme over the five years of the scheme and the actual income to date.

Cost Projection 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 Total Admin Costs 12,310 26,560 25,370 16,630 12,350 93,220 Management 60,420 59,290 59,290 59,290 59,290 297,580 License Processing 198,910 227,790 224,270 49,330 13,050 713,350 Costs Total Cost 271,640 313,640 308,930 125,250 84,690 1,104,150 Income -320,190 -313,640 -308,930 -145,620 -15,770 -1,104,150 Actual Income -320,190 -318,131 N/A N/A N/A -638,321 Transfer to/from 48,550 tbc 0 20,370 -68,920 0 reserve Grand Total 0 0 0 0 0 0

2.11 Empty properties.

The table below shows the impact of Selective Licensing on empty properties:

Selective Commencement of No of Empty No of Empty Total No Licensing Areas. the Scheme. Properties at Properties Empty commenceme on 1st Properties nt of the February reduced Scheme. 2017. by.

St Mary’s . 1st May 2015 39 34 5

Hathershaw & 6th July 2015 106 65 41 Waterhead.

Primrose Bank & 1st September 2015 81 79 2 Hollinwood.

Alexandra, Oldham 1st January 2016 19 14 5 Edge & Coldhurst.

Total 53

2.12 Disrepair.

The table below shows the number of disrepair cases received before and during the Selective Licensing Scheme.

Year. No of Disrepair Cases.

01/05/2014 – 30/04/2015 664

01/05/2016 – 30/04/2016 660

01/05/2016 – 15/02/2017 402

2.13 Referrals

The Selective Licensing Scheme is not intended to be used to solve all issues within the designated areas however the Selective Licensing Team have built strong close working relationships with a variety of partners. Since the start of the scheme the team have made 300 referrals to various partners including:

31 to Council Tax to provide updates of information and regarding suspected fraud. 9 to Housing Benefit to provide updates of information and regarding suspected fraud. 63 to Tenancy Relations. 11 to Greater Manchester Police. 5 to Social Services.

The Selective Licensing team have received 277 referrals from our Partners for action.

2.14 Management of Properties.

The table below shows the number of safety certificates received in the Year 1 and Year 2 of the Selective Licensing Scheme. The requirement to have gas safety certificates and an Energy Performance Certificate has been a legal requirement for many years. The lack of provision of these certificates suggests that the properties do not have current gas safety certificates. Should the licence holder fail to provide a current and satisfactory gas safety certificate at the condition audit this will also be a breach of the licence condition and the licence holder will face legal proceedings. The provision of an Electrical Installation report is not currently a legal requirement, however the lack of a current and satisfactory installation report is a breach of licence conditions.

Selective No of Gas Safety Electrical Safety Energy Licensing applications Certificates Certificates Performance Area. received. received. received. Certificates received.

St Mary’s 194 2 2 1 Hathershaw 252 15 15 18 Waterhead 363 70 61 93 Primrose Bank 242 44 38 50 Hollinwood 135 7 7 17 Oldham Edge 41 4 4 3 Alexandra 87 10 9 10 Coldhurst 76 20 23 24

2.16 A number of benefits have been developed for licence holders and these will continue to be developed.

Green Dividend.

The Green Dividend Fund is a one-off pot of money supporting community action within the Selective Licensing areas. The Green Dividend will help make these areas greener places to live, through gardening and/or landscaping projects that benefit streets and neighbourhoods for residents and visitors. Residents, community groups and third sector organisations can apply for funding between £500 and £5,000 to help them deliver green ideas and projects that create, improve or make a real difference to their areas.

Single Point of Contact.

There is a Specific Selective Licensing Officer with direct contact details for each area. Through the single point of contact: (i) Landlords have reported issues and concerns about private rented properties where they live. (ii) Landlords have reported issues and concerns about their private rented properties or other neighbouring private rented properties . (iii) Landlords have contacted us with regards to future projects they would like to be involved. (iv) The team act as a mediation service between landlord and tenants. (v) The team provide advice and education for tenants . (vi) The team provide advice, education and assistance to landlords.

Partnership working.

The Selective Licensing Team work very closely with the Tenancy Relations Service, to ensure quick and consistent advice to tenants and landlords, with regards to their responsibilities and their options. As well as assistance with the eviction and Court process.

The team also work closely with the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team, Housing Benefit, Council Tax, Greater Manchester Police, District Partnership & Immigration Enforcement to ensure there is a holistic approach to solving any issues within the Selective Licensing areas.

Website development.

The Oldham Council Selective Licensing page has been developed to include: (i) Licensed Landlords Tenancy Pack (ii) Legislation Documents: Anti – Social Behaviour. Gas Safety. Housing & Planning Immigration Act The Redress Scheme The Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Regulations. (iii) Join our Facebook Page link. (iv) Single Point of Contact - Officer areas and contact details (v) Information for landlords which includes: Tenancy Relations Service Warm Homes Oldham Right to Rent & Unlawful Discrimination Redress Scheme Reporting Benefit Fraud Gas Safety Energy Performance Certificates Choosing a Contractor Legionella

Deposit Protection Furniture and Furnishings Regulations HMO Licensing Types of Tenancy Housing Benefit & Universal Credit Direct Payment.

Licensed Landlords Tenancy Pack.

Documents have been developed to assist licensed landlords with understanding and complying with their responsibilities and complying with their Licence conditions; (i) Assured Short hold Tenancy Agreement. (ii) Inventory Checklist. (iii) Tenant Reference Pro-forma. (iv) Checklist for referencing prospective tenants for rented properties. (v) Responsibility to dispose of waste correctly information. (vi) Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Declaration. (vii) Dealing with Condensation – Advice for Tenants. (viii) Duty of Care – Waste from your Property. (ix) Duty of Care – Waste Transfer Note. (x) End of Tenancy Condition Report. (xi) Example Legionnaires Risk Assessment. (xii) Meter Readings Form. (xiii) Receipt for Deposit. (xiv) Payment for Rent – Receipt. (xv) Routine Inspection Condition Report. (xvi) How to rent Checklist – Government Document. (xvii) New Section 21 requiring possession notice.

Facebook Group Page.

Licensed Landlords can access the Oldham Selective Licensing Facebook Group page. This was developed following a landlord commenting that there is no community between the landlords of Oldham. Currently there are 27 members. Regular posts are made with regards to Government consultations, legislation changes, useful information and forms, upcoming training from other providers and questions to landlords with regards to landlord forum, newsletter topics and other benefits they would like us to develop.

Legislation & information Updates.

Licensed Landlords who are not members of the Facebook Group are kept up to date via email or letters. For example: Letters have been sent regarding the Immigration Act – right to rent, which has a significant impact on landlords. Emails have been sent to Licensed Landlords regarding the Facebook Group, the Licensed Landlords Tenancy Pack and the Landlords Business Needs Survey.

Landlord forums.

Three landlord forums have been held to date with presentations and updates provided by:

Department of Works in Pensions - Universal Credit Immigration Enforcement - Right to Rent, Immigration Act 2014. Selective Licensing - Updates, training on Tax & Legionella. Tenancy Relations - How the Service can help landlords. Gone for Good - Smartphone App for removal of tenants left belongings. Warms Homes Oldham - Updates & Service available. Greater Manchester Police - Support for Selective Licensing & Case Studies.

Letting Agent and Landlords discussions regarding issues landlords face and assistance they require.

Landlord Information Sheet.

Two Landlord Newsletter have been provided to the Licensed Landlords. The third edition will be sent our shortly. In addition a Tenant Information Sheet will be sent to all Licensed properties. This will include information regarding Green Dividend, Tenants responsibilities and an update on Selective Licensing. Please see Appendix 1.

Condition Audit

Condition Audits are currently being carried out at Licensed properties. This will provide the Licence Holder with a professional report about the condition of their property. In addition it will ensure that Licence Conditions are being adhered to and therefore property and management standards are being raised.

2.17 There are a number of future projects that will be developed by the team in response to requests and these are as follows :-

Discounted training with the Residential Landlords Association.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) regularly offer training to assist Private Landlords in their business . This training is going to be offered on our Facebook Page and emailed to Licensed Landlords. The RLA have offered discount for our Licensed Landlords. The details are to be discussed further.

Tenancy Referencing.

The Council’s legal team are currently looking at the options of whether a Tenancy Referencing Service can be provided. This would be a register of where landlords have experienced significant issues with particular tenants.

Workshop.

The team are looking at facilitating a Workshop for Licensed Landlords, where landlords would be able to drop in to one location to speak to all the services they need.

Energy Efficiency Measures.

Free energy efficiency measures and access to grants to ensure the energy efficiency of the property is improved in line with the Energy Act.

3 Key Issues for Overview and Scrutiny to Discuss

3.1 The selective licensing scheme should be seen as one project that is designed, in certain neighbourhoods, to focus on the quality of privately rented properties as well as ensuring both tenants and landlords act in a way that does not cause concern within the neighbourhood.

3.2 One of the driving outcomes for the project must be to assist with increasing the demand of a neighbourhood. Selective Licensing can do this by ensuring that all private landlords within the designated areas are complying with their responsibilities with regards to property and management standards. This is achieved through licence holders of all private rented properties being fit and proper persons, which is assessed through the application process and through mandatory licence conditions which relate to management and property standards. The outcomes of these can be reflected through the number of licences granted and refused and the number of licence holders who breach their licence conditions. The outcomes are in line with the Council’s Corporate Objective, values and behaviours of everyone doing their bit.

3.3 The Selective Licensing Scheme provides a robust database regarding the private rented properties within the designated areas that include:

The number of private rented properties. The location of private rented properties. The contact details of the licence holder (responsible person for the property).

3.4 This robust database and the education and support provided throughout the scheme to landlords within the Selective Licensing areas provides the basis of changing the behaviour of landlords ensuring they take responsibility for their tenants actions. Further work will need to continue beyond the expiry of the 5 year scheme to ensure the behaviour change continues and is consistent.

3.5 The scheme will continue to report annually on the following to show the progress of the scheme:  The number of landlords applying for a licence in the designated areas against number of identified private rented sector properties;  Time taken to process applications;  The number of licences granted;  The number and outcome of refused licence applications (including number of appeals);  The number of prosecutions of non-applying landlords;  The number of prosecutions for breach of licence conditions;

The scheme will also continue to report annually on the following to monitor the impact of the scheme neighbourhood by neighbourhood:

 The number of homelessness presentations from within and outside the designation area;  Impact on empty properties;  The number of landlord and tenant complaints.

3.6 The project will report at the end of year 2 and year 4 on the progress against the low demand criteria used to select the neighbourhoods at the start of the scheme. These criteria set out in legislation are as follows:-

 The value of residential premises in the area, in comparison to the value of similar premises in other areas which the authority considers to be comparable (whether in terms of type of housing, local amenities, availability of transport);  The turnover of occupiers of residential premises;  The number of residential premises which are available to buy or rent, and the length of time for which they remain unoccupied.  A lack of local facilities, for example, shops closing down;  The impact of the rented sector on the local community, for example, poor property condition, anti-social behaviour;

4 Appendices

4.1 Appendix 1 Landlord Information Sheet Edition 2