Councillors in Newcastle have approved a new scheme it is hoped will crackdown on problematic landlords.
The city council’s cabinet agreed to bring in a new licensing scheme that will require landlords in certain parts of the city to obtain a licence from the local authority before letting out their properties. The new proposal will cover 10% of the city’s private rented accommodation – or 2,827 properties.
The council have been operating a similar scheme since 2020. This is due to expire next year but has been found to have a “positive impact” on the areas included.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the cabinet, portfolio holder for housing Cllr Paula Maines said, “Unfortunately, there are some landlords who exploit tenants by letting out unsuitable and dangerous accommodation which impacts on tenants quality of life.
“The council does work pro-actively with responsible landlords, but there is still an issue with a number of properties. We do have good landlords, they’re not all bad – but in consultation they were absolutely shocked at some of the horrendous conditions that some landlords think is okay.
“We want to provide safe and high-quality housing for all residents. This new scheme will help us reduce inequalities, deprivation, crime and anti-social behaviour.”
The new proposals cover a number of areas, including Cowgate, Lemington, and Colombia Grange in Kenton.
However, Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Colin Ferguson questioned the effectiveness of the scheme and how it would be enforced.
He said, “There’s a concern that the methods of enforcements are not proactive. You don’t have an enforcement regime that goes out and finds the landlords that are failing.
“There’s a feeling that the good landlords are being penalised for doing the right thing.”
Ed Foster, the city council’s head of public safety, disputed this. However, he did concede that the council needed to be better at communicating its successes when taking enforcement action.
He said, “We have done quite a bit of enforcement action. One landlord has lost 137 properties from their portfolio because of the actions we have taken. One of the things we need to do is communicate these stories when we do carry out enforcement.
“In the last two weeks in the selective licensing area, officers have found a family living in a garage with a hole in the ceiling and a six-month-old baby. That family was rehoused.”
