Overall would you say that private rented landlords act responsibly in letting, managing and maintaining their properties?

Positive

Which licensing schemes do you agree with?

None

Do you think that the licensing scheme will improve the private rented sector?

No

Do you agree issuing a 1 year licence (rather than a 5 year licence) might be appropriate for non-compliant landlords

Neither agree or disagree

In your opinion, what impact will licensing have? (select all that apply)

• May increase rent

• Unlikely to have a positive impact

• No improvement to property management

Do you agree with the proposed Additional Licensing fee (£750)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the proposed fee for Selective Licensing (£650)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the other proposed fees and charges?

Strongly disagree

Do you have any further comments on the proposed fees and charges?

Will lead to increased rent prices for tenants

Do you agree with the Selective Licensing conditions?

No

Do you agree with the Additional Licensing conditions?

No

Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve the licensing scheme or alternative action that can be taken to improve management and property condition of private rented properties?

If they are to be introduced, then should apply only to landlords with a poor track record with regards to property management and maintenance

Overall would you say that private rented landlords act responsibly in letting, managing and maintaining their properties?

Positive

Which licensing schemes do you agree with?

None

Do you think that the licensing scheme will improve the private rented sector?

No

Do you agree issuing a 1 year licence (rather than a 5 year licence) might be appropriate for non-compliant landlords

Strongly agree

In your opinion, what impact will licensing have? (select all that apply)

• Improve residents understanding of rights

• May increase rent

• Improve housing conditions

• Improve management standards

Do you agree with the proposed Additional Licensing fee (£750)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the proposed fee for Selective Licensing (£650)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the other proposed fees and charges?

Strongly disagree

Do you have any further comments on the proposed fees and charges?

In general, I agree with the National Landlord Association feedback on the Newcastle licensing proposal. Overview It appears the Council wishes to: 1. Reduce waste issues 2. Reduce Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) 3. Ensure Private Rented Sector (PRS) housing meets decent housing standards 4. Improve the areas where there is low occupancy of housing 5. Reduce homelessness I have found the Council PRS housing team to be approachable and professional and they have a supportive website http://www.privaterentedservice.co.uk for both tenants and landlords. The website could be developed to target the areas that need improvement. This is a one-off cost. 1. Waste • Add to the website: o a leaflet that can be printed off that can be left at the house o a leaflet that can be printed off and put on the inside of the bin lid (or copied with a Sharpie pen) o a document that the tenant can sign that they agree to waste management eg Waste Management Tenant Form 2018 http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/business-investment/selective-licensing o a short video that highlights what goes in each bin o how to get a new bin if one is missing and any costs o how to report pests and pest service costs o a link to the Newcastle Council online system to report litter etc and a video to show how to fill it in o link to charities that recycle furniture • There are 49,000 new University students each year of which at least 5000 are foreigners. It is their first time being responsible for household waste. The University should ensure they get training in how to manage waste and especially that they are responsible for recycling it at the end of their tenancy. They should improve their website and there should be a University scheme whereby landlords can escalate complaints about persistent poor waste management by student tenants. • Landlords have to pay to use the Municipal recycling centres. Tenants often don’t have cars, but this rule prevents landlords from helping tenants dispose of their stuff at tips. Newcastle should allow some free services and follow the example of the Leeds Rental Scheme http://www.leedsrentalstandard.org.uk/documents/WasteDisposalLandlordprices_2018.pdf 2. ASB • Add to the website: o Leaflet that can be printed off about ASB eg ASB tenant document found here http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/business-investment/selective-licensing o A better video about dealing with ASB o Tips on how to communicate with people eg the ‘I feel….’ Technique o Tips on the steps to escalate complaints eg to the landlord (eg how to find their address via their tenancy contract Service address or via the Land Registry), to the Letting Agent, to the Council Noise complaints dept, to the Council PRS dept, to the Police, how to get mediation, how to involve youth development workers or youth sector charities. o How to access Police info alerts eg https://www.yournorthumbria.org/about.php • Create facebook community sites where people can promote and care for an area. For example: o Organise litter pick ups o Highlight local successes o Communicate local jobs, training, volunteering, school initiatives etc o Let people know if a local landlord has been prosecuted and the extent of the fine. o Help create a community that promotes good behaviour • ASB is most difficult in areas of high deprivation. Council funding cuts have reduced funds for youth development, Voluntary Sector funding helping people into training and jobs etc. This is the Council’s responsibility and it is not the responsibility of private landlords to fund these initiatives. Getting people back into employment would mean that they are not left with bad credit records and limited housing options where bad landlords thrive. It is also the area where registered social landlords (with all their tax incentives) are meant to provide housing. • Essentially private landlords can try to manage tenants ASB but for continuing bad behaviour, ultimately they have only one legal recourse – to terminate the tenancy. Social housing has no obligation to house tenants with a history of ASB, they move and start their behaviour again in another location. • The council has not published its strategy for dealing with chaotic and antisocial tenants. This should run in conjunction with the current proposal. 3. Ensure Private Rented Sector (PRS) housing meets decent housing standards The Licensing proposal does not include how much money will be raised from prosecuting bad landlords. This should be included in the business case. The laws already exist to prosecute landlords for failing to provide decent housing. I believe Newcastle failed to prosecute anybody in the period 2014 to 2016 (see article https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/agent-reveals-6-000-private-rental-sector-complaints--only-one-prosecution). The council can raise £100,000s from prosecuting bad landlords and the large fines would incentivise the rest to meet the standards or leave the business. It is ever the case that it is easier for governments to tax the law abiding majority rather than chase the minority of bad landlords. Most businesses pay for regulation and most landlords would be happy to pay a reasonable fee to ensure that the private rented sector is regulated. If a good landlord, with decent housing, costs one to four hours for an officer to check every 5 years then a fee of £100 to £200 every 5 years is not unreasonable. Newcastle is proposing £650 to £700. The UK average is about £550. Newcastle has not shown a business case to justify raising that revenue. It mentions raising £9M but that is only an estimated 75% of the possible total of £12M. Given that the consequences for not applying for a licence are possible prosecution and unlimited fines, then I believe the compliance will be higher than the assumed 75%. Regulation is a cost of business and should be passed on to the tenant thus leading to a rise in rents. The fee is also large in comparison to some landlord’s income. This may mean that in order to pay the fee in a lump sum, then planned maintenance is postponed for lack of funds. Letting is an income business and the Council could charge annually on a direct debit basis. Most of the money is spent on salaries so they also need the income annually. 4. Improve the areas where there is low occupancy of housing If we look at the bigger picture then essentially a Conservative central government are putting pressure on an entrenched Labour council by cutting central government funds. The Tories have not had a seat on Newcastle Council in 20 years. The Tories have nothing to lose by continuing the cuts as it is unlikely that voting will change. The Council is seeking alternative sources of funds and can’t raise council tax, thus the licensing fees. I believe the Newcastle social housing waiting list is about 7,520. This is the lowest number as the figures do not include anybody who does not meet the eligibility criteria eg any single persons who can live with their parents. Newcastle is spending £1Mpa on emergency housing. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/revealed-staggering-amount-housing-crisis-14366699 The UK has lost 2M social houses since 1980. This article gives some background: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/right-to-buy-council-homes-sold-off-private-landlords-rent-tory-cap-a8189881.html The PRS has helped to plug the gap rising from 14,400 in 2001 to 24,000 in 2018. The current huge expansion of purpose built student blocks has also contributed to returning student houses to renting to families. The introduction of licensing along with tax changes which start this year, can reduce the profit margins enough that landlords decide to sell, thus contributing to the lack of housing supply in Newcastle and costing the Council more money for emergency housing. Newcastle needs to build @9000 (my guesstimate) new social housing to replace those lost to Right To Buy. They could build houses in a new factory so that the houses could be built to the latest standards and tenants would have quality houses with low utility bills. This would create work in the factory and an on-going business supplying houses in the future. It would also provide competition at the bottom of the market where landlords would have to improve their properties to compete for the remaining tenants. The new houses could also be placed on inner city brownfield sites improving the area with new housing. Hopefully this would help improve areas of low occupancy. For many decades central government has not allowed Local councils to use their own funds to build social housing. However the funding models used by the numerous Student housing builds in Newcastle shows an alternative funding source. Use outside investment to fund the cost of land and build and repay via employing excellent management companies who maximise the collection of rent by providing a good experience for tenants. 5 Reduce Homelessness Due to the lack of social housing provision, Newcastle’s PRS has done their best to support private landlords to try to enlarge the private market for tenants who currently cannot access social housing. However a landlord will typically spend at least 2X the normal amount of time dealing with a housing benefit clientele. It is a specialist market and attracts a minority of private landlords. Social Housing Registered Providers have tax concessions which enhances their ability to provide social housing. Originally, they were also non-profit companies. However some of these companies have grown so large that in some aspects they seem to have left their social roots behind and act like corporate builders. Some select their tenants on their ease of suitability as tenants and not necessarily need. Allegedly some social Housing providers have not rented to a homeless person in years. A Freedom of Information Request might reveal some interesting statistics on which Newcastle social Housing providers have taken on homeless tenants recently. Homeless people often have complex needs and need support to meet their tenancy obligations. This is the domain of social housing providers and charities who have the skills and means to help. Licensing PRS is unlikely to have any effect on homelessness. Further points 1. The proposal does not outline the implementation costs eg software systems, web site updates, staffing costs, office costs, hardware costs, legal costs, transport costs, etc. It does not explain current costs. It does not justify the £9M to £12M it is asking to raise. If this raises £2.4Mpa and an officer costs @£30Kpa then this would pay for roughly 80 people. What is the current staffing level? 2. The statistics provided tend to come from the 2 areas of elective licencing which would tend to provide the worst case scenario given these areas were chosen because of their existing poor performance. The correlation of a high level of PRS housing does not mean causation. It is probably also correlated highly to unemployment that does not make you a bad tenant. 3. The beneficial effects of the existing selective licencing has not been specifically outlined. What is the cost benefit analysis? 4. The proposal contains very little cost benefit analysis. For example how many landlords would be classed as rogue and are the true target of this licensing proposal? If there are 26,000 PRS housing of which 14,000 are student (the new builds generally have professional management) then that leaves 12,000 houses. If the current selective housing area of 740 houses has 270 landlords, then the average ratio is roughly 2.7 houses per landlord. Thus 12,000 houses have roughly 4,444 landlords. If 5% required attention, then that would be an extremely rough estimate of 222 landlords. If £12M is spent then that would be £54K per landlord, an excessive overspend. The proposal needs a properly costed business case.

Do you agree with the Selective Licensing conditions?

No

Do you agree with the Additional Licensing conditions?

No

Overall would you say that private rented landlords act responsibly in letting, managing and maintaining their properties?

Positive

Which licensing schemes do you agree with?

None

Do you think that the licensing scheme will improve the private rented sector?

No

Do you agree issuing a 1 year licence (rather than a 5 year licence) might be appropriate for non-compliant landlords

Strongly disagree

In your opinion, what impact will licensing have? (select all that apply)

• No improvement to property management

Do you agree with the proposed Additional Licensing fee (£750)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the proposed fee for Selective Licensing (£650)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the other proposed fees and charges?

Strongly disagree

Do you have any further comments on the proposed fees and charges?

too high. It is clear that the intention is to raise funds

Do you agree with the Selective Licensing conditions?

No

Do you agree with the Additional Licensing conditions?

No

Do you have any further comments on the Selective and Additional Licensing conditions?

Moving forward on with this is likely to increase costs for tenants with negative impact on Newcastle rental market.

Overall would you say that private rented landlords act responsibly in letting, managing and maintaining their properties?

Mostly positive

Which licensing schemes do you agree with?

None

Do you think that the licensing scheme will improve the private rented sector?

No

Do you agree issuing a 1 year licence (rather than a 5 year licence) might be appropriate for non-compliant landlords

Strongly disagree

In your opinion, what impact will licensing have? (select all that apply)

• Unlikely to have a positive impact

• No improvement to property management

• No improvement to environment

• May increase rent

Do you agree with the proposed Additional Licensing fee (£750)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the proposed fee for Selective Licensing (£650)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the other proposed fees and charges?

Strongly disagree

Do you have any further comments on the proposed fees and charges?

Fees and charges are too high.

Do you agree with the Selective Licensing conditions?

No

Do you agree with the Additional Licensing conditions?

No

Do you have any further comments on the Selective and Additional Licensing conditions?

I've paid for selective licence twice over the last 8 years and haven't seen any benefit or improvement in that area.

Do you have any further comments on the impact of licensing on the management and condition of private rented properties?

Selective and additional License is a cost for the business. It's not likely to result in any improvment

Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve the licensing scheme or alternative action that can be taken to improve management and property condition of private rented properties?

Additional Licensing should not be implement. There is plenty of housing regulation in housing acts for council to follow and improve properties and condition and management

Overall would you say that private rented landlords act responsibly in letting, managing and maintaining their properties?

Positive

Which licensing schemes do you agree with?

None

Do you think that the licensing scheme will improve the private rented sector?

No

Do you agree issuing a 1 year licence (rather than a 5 year licence) might be appropriate for non-compliant landlords

Strongly disagree

In your opinion, what impact will licensing have? (select all that apply)

• No improvement to property management

Do you agree with the proposed Additional Licensing fee (£750)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the proposed fee for Selective Licensing (£650)?

Strongly disagree

Do you agree with the other proposed fees and charges?

Strongly disagree

Do you have any further comments on the proposed fees and charges?

Unfair

Do you agree with the Selective Licensing conditions?

No

Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve the licensing scheme or alternative action that can be taken to improve management and property condition of private rented properties?

Unfair scheme money making scheme