Licensing law criticised by landlord association

The scheme is "a missed opportunity to get things rights for tenants, landlords and agents", the JLA say

A new licensing scheme has provided "little helpful, on-the-ground guidance" for landlords, an association has said.

The Rented Dwelling Licensing Scheme was created to "work to improve the standards of rental accommodation" in the island, the government said in April.

The scheme was approved by States members in November 2023, and online licensing forms opened to landlords in May.

Deputy Steve Luce, Minister for the Environment, said the system was "working quickly and efficiently".

The Jersey Landlords Association (JLA) said the "disorderly roll-out of the rented dwelling licence scheme has been a missed opportunity to get things right for tenants, landlords and agents".

It said: "Landlords must have objective standards which they can easily apply to their properties, so that they can improve them for their and their tenants’ benefit.

"They must also be able to tell within reason if their tenants’ homes will pass an inspection by the Environmental Health Department.

"Improving Jersey’s 20,000 rented dwellings cannot be done by inspections and advice from officers alone."

The new law requires landlords to meet minimum standards, and a licence is needed for each property a landlord rents out at a cost of £60, which will be valid for two years.

The JLA said it had received complaints from its members about a "difficult-to-use application process" and that it was concerned no paper application forms would be provided.

"Not providing paper forms is shutting a part of the landlord community out of the application process," it said.

'Left with fudge'

The JLA said the 124-page technical manual was "very difficult to read", and no industry consultation had taken place on the code of practice "despite the minister being legally required" to do so.

It said: "Clear guidance is needed on how rented dwellings' health and safety fits in with Building Bye-Laws, planning and historic building legislation and policy, the carbon neutral roadmap and fire safety for houses in multiple occupation.

"Tenants, agents and landlords have been left with a fudge, brought out in short order to get the licensing scheme up and running.

"This is a great pity as this was the opportunity to come up with some really good guidance for rented dwellings in Jersey."

'Getting on with it'

Mr Luce disputed the claims made by the JLA.

He said: “We have had around 1,000 applications with more than 830 licences already issued, suggesting many landlords are indeed just getting on with it and that the system is working quickly and efficiently.

"We have committed to working with Scrutiny and the Jersey Landlords' Association on improvements to the Code of Practice and application process."

The JLA said a meeting would be held at the Town Hall on Monday 13 May to allow landlords and agents to express their concerns.