By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The cost of a scheme to better protect tenants from rogue landlords in Nottingham is expected to increase by £200,000 following a nationally-agreed pay rise for council staff.
Nottingham City Council finalised its proposals for a second scheme of selective licensing in January this year, before it was approved by the Government.
The Labour-run council first set up the selective licensing scheme in August 2018 to make rented properties safer for tenants, by giving it powers to make sure rented homes meet certain conditions.
Under the scheme landlords of certain properties must register and be issued with a licence, which can be revoked if homes are not kept up to certain standards.
Its new selective licensing scheme will come into force from December, and more than 90 staff members will be working to implement it.
The council makes no profit from the scheme, and the cost is funded from licence fees which landlords must pay.
However, following a nationally agreed pay rise for council staff, the cost of the scheme is expected to rise from £23,304,467 to £23,504,527 over a five-year period.
Therefore the council has made some changes to its fees structure to balance the income and expenditure, according to delegated decision documents.
“The fee income estimated at that time did not match the expenditure and the review of the fees now addresses this, with the revised income and expenditure balancing,” documents say.
“As the revised fee structure increases the income and expenditure by £200,060, the decision to implement it needs approval by the corporate director.
“If the council does not amend the fee, it may not recover all relevant costs associated with the proposed scheme and therefore some of the costs may have to be borne by the council.”
Licence fees vary on how compliant a landlord is with the scheme, and a licence lasts five years.
The revised fee for an individual accredited licence will be £665, an individual standard licence will be £887, and an individual less compliant licence will be £1,233.
Some licences cover landlords of blocks and flats in blocks.
An accredited block base licence will be £1,771, a standard block base licence will be £2,684, and a less compliant block base will be £3,119.
An accredited flat in block licence will be £512, a standard flat in block will be £527 and a less compliant flat in block will be £532.
Some councillors and private landlords have before raised concerns over the new scheme, including its value for money and effectiveness.
Mick Roberts, a landlord in Nottingham, previously said the new scheme would cost him £57,000 in fees.
“In Nottingham selective licensing is one of the biggest causes of rent increases,” he said, stating the costs are sometimes passed on to tenants.
But the council says the scheme is a “major step forward in improving living standards for many Nottingham residents”.
Councillor Jay Hayes, who looks after housing portfolio at the council, said: “People in Nottingham have a right to expect a decent and safe standard of private rented accommodation, which is well managed and maintained.
“Having a licence will allow landlords to demonstrate that they provide decent quality accommodation for tenants, and we will work with landlords to support them to achieve the licence conditions.”
