Brighton and Hove Council have approved new Selective Licensing for twelve wards of the town.
What does this mean?
Landlords who have properties in any of the designated wards will now have to pay for a license in order to rent their property out lawfully.
The areas that will be affected by the new schemes are: –
Brunswick and Adelaide
East Brighton
Central Hove
Hanover & Elm Grove
Hollingdean & Stanmer
Queens Park
Moulsecoomb & Bevendean
Preston Park
Regency
South Portslade
St Peters & North Laine
Westbourne.
The Secretary of State has declared that the new schemes will come into force on the 4th February 2019 and unless they are revoked beforehand will remain in force for a period of five years.
How much will this cost landlords?
The Council will be charging a standard fee of £460 or a prompted fee of £600 where a licence application has not been made proactively and the Council has to carry out investigation and/or chase up work to ensure that an application is made.
There may also be different charges for HMO licenses. Please contact the council for these.
Penalties
The licence holder must ensure that the premises fully comply with each of the conditions in sections 1-15 unless specific alternatives are notified and agreed with the case officer. Failure to comply with any condition may result in legal proceedings including fines of up to £5,000 and loss of the licence.
Please see below link to the Draft Selective licence conditions: –
Please visit Brighton & Hove’s Website for the full details:
The Reason?
Brighton & Hove feel that due to ever-increasing private rental accommodation it has been proven that there are inconsistencies with management and maintenance of the properties. Due to the high demand for rentals in Brighton & Hove the council aims to ensure that the landlords of these properties ‘are a fit and proper’ person and through compliance with the licence conditions are providing well managed homes.
If you require further information or help then please do not hesitate to contact Stuart and Partners on 01444 414931 or 01273 841482.