Council renews landlord licensing scheme

Rotherham Council has approved the renewal of licences for landlords in six areas of the borough

A landlord licensing scheme aimed at tackling poor-quality housing and anti-social behaviour is to be renewed.

Rotherham Council said the scheme would continue despite "limited public support" during a consultation.

The five-year scheme will require landlords to apply for licences costing £975 per property. They must meet management standards, and face higher fees if they fail to apply on time.

It will cover parts of the town centre, Eastwood, East Dene, Clifton, Masbrough, Kimberworth, Thurcroft, Dinnington, Brinsworth and Parkgate, replacing the current scheme introduced in 2020.

The council said the licences had already helped to improve housing standards and reduce anti-social behaviour, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A council report said only about one in five respondents to the public consultation agreed with the proposed designations.

It added that several landlords argued the policy "unfairly penalises compliant property owners".

One landlord asked councillors to consider removing streets with no record of issues from the scheme.

'Safe, decent homes'

Sam Barstow, assistant director for community safety, said officers decided on the areas following the consultation, and said decisions had been made on "an evidential basis" with data on deprivation, crime and anti-social behaviour.

Areas with high levels of compliance may only have to buy the licences annually rather than for five years but this was still up for discussion among councillors, he said.

Speaking as a member of the public, Taiba Yaseen, who is also a Rotherham councillor, said the public consultation had been "ignored and betrayed".

"How [can] the council claim the consultation was meaningful when 68% of residents and tenants said no to selective licensing, yet their views have been ignored?"

Councillor Linda Beresford answered that the consultation had been extensive, with 16,000 residents, landlords and letting agents contacted plus engagement with more than 60 organisations, faith groups and schools.

"It's not a popularity contest, it's not The X Factor," she said.

"We need to do what is the right thing for our residents, which is to make sure they are all living in safe, decent homes."

The licences will then be reviewed again after five years.

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