Laying down the law on landlords

PRIVATE landlords with properties in problem areas could face a £5,000 fine if they fail to acquire a licence under new rules due to come into force on Friday.

The news that landlords will have to pay £490 per property for a five-year licence has caused anger - but the council says scheme won’t make a profit and is necessary to improve property management and tenant behaviour.

Council leader Jim McMahon said: “There’s quite a lot we can’t do anything about, but we can do something about the quality and condition of homes across the borough.

“Landlords have been very vocal about this, but this is not an attack on them. The only people who will be disadvantaged are the rogues and we have a civic responsibility to bring these people to book.

“We are not asking landlords to do anything unreasonable, we just want people to be able to live in safe homes. If you are making money from renting out a property, you are going to have to put your hand in your pocket and make sure things are done right. That burden shouldn’t fall on the taxpayers of Oldham.”

The programme — which affects 2,250 properties — will be introduced in St Mary’s on Friday, Hathershaw and Waterhead from July 6, Hollinwood and Primrose Bank from September 1 and Coldhurst, Oldham Edge and Alexandra from January 1 next year.

Landlords who rent out properties in these areas need to make contact with the council to apply for a licence before the start date or face a fine of up to £5,000.

The new requirement was approved by cabinet members last December, in line with the Housing Act 2004 which gives councils the power to introduce licensing within areas of low housing demand or with significant anti-social behaviour problems.

Landlord Chris Green, who will have up to four properties affected, feels landlords haven’t been consulted fairly and questions what they will get for their money.

He said: “This will inevitably lead to an increase in rents for tenants out of their fixed-term contract and I feel this should have been brought to the attention of residents during the consultation.

“How is this going to improve any area? All the scheme is going to do is ask landlords to provide documents that they should already have by law. There is nothing to help private landlords in either the day-to-day running of their properties or the verification of prospective tenants. Being asked to pay over £400 to cover things it is already illegal not to have, seems ridiculous.”

Councillor Dave Hibbert said: “We expect this scheme to be a badge of honour for landlords and letting managers should put this to prospective tenants to ensure they receive a quality service for the rent they are paying. We need this scheme to find the rogue landlords who fail to provide housing to a decent standard.”