By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A Nottingham scheme which aims to protect thousands of housing tenants from poor conditions and anti-social behaviour could be implemented.
Nottingham City Council has used the power of selective licensing to tackle problems in privately rented housing since 2018.
The scheme, which covers a selected area of the city, requires landlords to be pro-active about managing and maintaining their properties effectively.
The current scheme is set to end in 2023 and the authority plans to continue the work carried out so far with a new proposal.
Since the scheme was first implemented, the council says 666 improvements have been made to 446 properties.
There are around 45,500 privately rented properties across the city. More than a third of the city’s population live in such accommodation.
The selective licensing scheme will be discussed during a council Executive Board meeting on May 24.
Council papers state that the benefits so far include rogue landlords leaving the market, a speedier resolution to anti-social behaviour cases and thousands of homes improving their EPC (energy performance certificate) ratings.
The authority also says it helps reduce anti-social behaviour, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction among renters and improving the city’s reputation.
Despite the success of the first scheme, the council says there is more work to be done and a second scheme would be useful.
The scheme can only be implemented if the council meets the criteria of areas with poor property conditions, significant problems with anti-social behaviour, and high levels of deprivation or crime.
The council is under no obligation to implement the scheme but papers state that it “delivers a range of benefits to the city with minimal call upon existing budgetary resources”.
Council papers state: “The scheme will end in July 2023 and the evidence supports a second scheme in order to build upon the first and continue to deliver the benefits which are already being seen in the city’s private rented sector (PRS).”
If approved in principle by the board a public consultation will take place in June to August 2022.
