Many readers will know about Brent Council’s landlord licensing because of the newspaper headlines and TV coverage of enforcement visits. Only few days ago, Brent Council’s licensing enforcement officers discovered 16 men living inside a run-down flat above a commercial premises in Burnt Oak, North West London.
In July last year, I joined officers as they carried out a number of visits to properties in Kingsbury which were suspected of possible licensing breaches, and my committee – Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee - reviewed the council’s new licensing arrangements for the private rented sector. We were keen to see how they were working and, in particular, how enforcement was being addressed.
We emphasised to officers the importance of ensuring tenants are aware of licensing schemes, and I am pleased to see that there is a lot of activity in this area. The council’s Private Rented Sector team is planning to support community champions from groups and organisations across the borough to advise people they know who rent in Brent to provide them with up-to-date information about landlord licensing.
There is also a lot going on to promote the scheme using the council’s webpages. Additionally, renters can report a disrepair that their landlord won’t fix to the council by visiting the webpage: www.brent.gov.uk/reportarepair.
If a tenant suspects that their landlord may not have a licence, they can do a quick, anonymous search on the council’s database via www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing. A tenant also has the right to report their landlord, anonymously and confidentially, if they discover that their landlord doesn’t have a licence at www.brent.gov.uk/reportaproperty.
Since last year, things have moved on for the landlord licensing schemes and scrutiny. Following on from my committee’s recommendation, the council’s cabinet has said it intends to apply to the Secretary of State to introduce a borough-wide licensing scheme for all private tenancies.
The council has also set up a dedicated scrutiny committee to examine housing issues in May of this year, in recognition of the growing importance of this area. That committee will be keeping a close eye on the success of the landlord licensing and enforcement, as well as the many other housing matters which concern residents, over the coming year.
The issue of landlord licensing isn’t just confined to tenants and landlords, especially when the private rented sector is growing fast, and already occupies a third, of the housing market in the borough. All Brent residents benefit when fly-tipping, antisocial behaviour and poor living conditions are removed from the neighbourhood.
The licensing of privately rented properties is in everyone’s interest if we are going to build a fairer society. If we are going to tackle the capital’s burgeoning housing crisis, it is a necessary step in the right direction.
