Landlords in ‘tax’ rebellion

Standing together: from left, landlords Neelofar Rafiq, Saghira Hussain, Qurban Hussain, Yousaf Yaqub, Akhmed Hussain, Sujaad Hussain, Tasawar Haque and Kamran Ghafoor start the Hathershaw Landlords Association

£500 licences spark anger

PRIVATE landlords in Hathershaw are uniting to oppose a council licensing scheme designed to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Angered property owners have branded the project being piloted in the area as a “stealth tax” as it will cost them almost £500 per property — and are threatening court action.

They’ve formed the Hathershaw Landlords Association in an attempt to restart discussions on the new licence, intended to improve standards, that could hit them with fines of up to £20,000 if they don’t pay up.

Kamran Ghafoor (32), who owns properties in the area, is helping to bring together around 50 property owners for the association’s first meeting on Sunday.

Mr Ghafoor, a spokesman for the association, said: “We want to question what we will get from paying.

“It seems we will only get instructions on how to be ‘better’ landlords and do the things that we are already doing.

“Ten years ago people started buying houses in this area that were boarded up.

“They invested their money and brought this area back to life.

“Now this stealth tax is being levied on landlords which is not encouraging the private sector locally. If it was about improvements, why not charge each landlord one payment instead of for each of their properties?

“If this stealth tax goes ahead then landlords will have little choice but to pass the costs on to their tenants who may not be able to afford the increased rent and seek accommodation elsewhere.”

The licences have been brought in under the Housing Act 2004, and the charge would be one-off fee that would last five years.

A consultation exercise was launched earlier this year about the scheme in reaction to claims tenants in privately rented homes were causing trouble, stemming from a lack of regulation of private landlords.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, cabinet member for housing, transport and regeneration said the council carried out a detailed and well publicised consultation lasting 12 weeks from February this year.

He added: “All landlords in the area are now able to get advice and support to deal with problem tenants, training is also available to help improve their skills.

“We have received a positive response from some landlords and letting agents already.

“We have found that responsible landlords welcome the scheme as it focuses on improving the neighbourhood — it’s also a way of improving standards in the private rented sector.”

The scheme is available to all local authorities to tackle what Councillor Hibbert describes as “significant and persistent problems” caused by anti-social behaviour.

Yet landlords in Hathershaw, the first area for the scheme to come into effect, say they were not informed of the changes and have been denied their say.

The newly-formed association will elect a chairman on Sunday, but founding members are already considering taking legal action.

Mr Ghafoor added: “The council should be helping landlords by giving them more power to deal with tenants who may have a criminal background, instead of the three to four-month procedure it currently takes to evict someone.

“It’s also been known for tenants to rip out boilers and copper pipes before leaving, with landlords left to pick up the bill.”

They are calling for another consultation to be carried out as well as the issue to be put back on the agenda of Oldham Council.