Scheme to tackle rogue landlords could be rolled out to more parts of Leeds

A scheme to clamp down on rogue landlords could be rolled out to more parts of Leeds after improving the living conditions of more than 4,000 people.

Selective Licensing was launched in Beeston and Harehills in January 2020 and means private landlords need to have a license to rent out property.

The fee for a selective licence is £825 for each property and it means the landlord must then comply with certain conditions like meeting gas, electrical and fire safety standards.

A report to Leeds City Council’s executive board says almost 4,000 inspections and revisits were carried out up to December last year. Resulting in 1,300 homes being improved.

Around 80 percent of the properties were not meeting legal standards. Whilst most of these were dealt with informally, there has been a ‘significant number’ of landlords who had formal action taken against them.

The report says the scheme led to closer working with the police and city-wide operations to tackle landlords who used their homes for criminality.

“This closer working, sharing of knowledge and information and targeting those using the sector for this criminal activity has resulted in the seizure of over £50m in cannabis across the city.”

The licensing scheme is due to be renewed next year and could be extended to other parts of the city under plans to be discussed by the board this afternoon.

Parts of the Armley, Beeston and Holbeck, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, Gipton and Harehills, and Hunslet and Riverside wards would eventually be included after the current scheme expires in 2025.

The report details a number of examples of people who were given help and referred to other organisations after inspectors discovered their living situations and other issues:

*An elderly gentleman living in poor conditions with wastewater in the property, a blocked toilet and a kitchen which was not fit to use. He also had no food or heating and was unable to pay his bills.

*A woman whose daughter had slipped down the stairs due to water coming through the roof when it had rained.

*A property where the adult tenants did not speak English and so one of the acted as an interpreter. The child was of school age and was at home. It transpired there were 4 children living at the property and who weren’t in school – the tenant had submitted applications for school places but they had gone missing and so the children were not known to anyone.

*A mother and her 3 children living in a one-bedroom flat all sharing one bedroom. There was significant damp and mould present in the bedroom which was being made worse by the fact that all tenants were sharing the one room.

*A severely disabled tenant who was house bound living in a flat which had been created without planning permission. Inspectors found it was extremely dangerous to live in because there was no safe fire escape route and no working smoke detectors.

Some landlords have previously campaigned against Selective Licensing though, saying it penalises responsible landlords. They also warn the cost of the license will ultimately get passed onto tenants via higher rents.

Executive board members will discuss plans to extend the scheme at a meeting today (March 13).