Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

(NOTE: Pursuant to Part 3e, Paragraph 19, of the City Council's Constitution, Councillor T Khan, the Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, has been invited to attend for the consideration of this matter and to agree the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements will not apply. The reason for urgency being, due to the breadth of the consultation required, the need for the consultation to commence at the earliest opportunity so as not to delay the proposed timetable for implementation.)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) setting out proposals for a Selective Licensing Scheme in Coventry. Appendices to the report provided: The Selective Licensing Feasibility Report 2018; LSOA Maps;  Selective Licensing Policy 2018; RICS Private Rented Sector Code of Practice; Timeline for Selective Licensing; Selective Licensing Fees and Charges; and Equalities Impact Assessment.

Due to the timescale for this matter, in accordance with Paragraph 19 of the City Council’s Constitution, Councillor T Khan, the Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, had been invited to attend the meeting for the consideration of this matter to agree the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements would not apply. The reason for the urgency was that due to the breadth of the consultation required, there was a need for it to commence at the earliest opportunity so as not to delay the proposed timetable for implementation. The Chair of Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee agreed the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements would not apply.

The provision of good quality housing for Coventry residents was a key priority for the City Council. The adopted Coventry Local Plan 2016 detailed how Coventry City Council would meet the future housing needs up to 2031. There was also a need to consider the City’s existing housing stock and in particular the quality of homes provided via the Private Rented Sector (PRS). The Private Rented Sector in Coventry had seen considerable growth over the past 20 years, the 2001 Census reported the sector to be around 13% which had increased to around 21% by 2011, making Coventry the region in the West Midlands with the largest PRS.

Under the Housing Act 2004, Government had legislated to provide local authorities with additional powers to tackle poor quality homes in the PRS through the designation of Selective Licensing schemes. A Scheme would require all owners of rented properties to apply to the Council for a property licence which the Council would determine by the criteria set out in the Selective Licensing Policy 2018. This included an assessment of the landlord and manager’s ability to comply with the licensing requirements and management practices. Licences would be issued for a period of 1 or 5 years based upon the eligibility of the landlord.

The proposed fees and charges had been developed in order to reach an appropriate fee to consult on the proposed structure of the scheme. The proposed fees attempted to provide incentives for compliant landlords whilst providing sufficient resources to ensure that the scheme could be effectively delivered and every property could be inspected before a licence was issued.

Licences would include all of the mandatory conditions required under the legislation, for example, providing gas and electrical certificates and maintaining health and safety standards, as well as additional (discretionary) licence conditions to address issues such as ASB and environmenta/ management issues.

The City Council was required to consult on the proposals, the results of which would influence the final structure and fees and charges for the scheme.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Having considered the Selective Licensing Feasibility Report 2018, resolves that there is a need for Selective Licensing in the areas identified in the report.

2)  Authorises a Citywide statutory 10 week consultation beginning on the 9th January 2019 and ending on the 20th March 2019.

3)  Requests a future report to the Cabinet following the conclusion of the consultation for a decision to be made regarding the structure of the Selective Licensing Scheme and the submission of the Scheme to the Secretary of State for confirmation.