The Risks of Not Having A Selective License in Leicester Are Getting Serious
So here’s the latest from the City Council on the Leicester Selective Licensing Scheme, word for word from their latest newsletter:
Leicester City Council is working with Justice for Tenants and will be sending out letters to all unlicensed properties within the Selective Licensing areas. The letter will provide information to tenants about how to claim a Rent Repayment Order. Justice for Tenants will support tenants to make an application. Tenants may be able to apply to the First-tier property Tribunal for up to 12 months to be repaid.
Let’s break that down.
Justice For Tenants: Who Are They?
In a word, Experts. Experts at the art of claiming Rent Relief Orders for tenants. As their website says:
Rent repayment orders
Get up to 12 months rent back
JFT are experts in this field and provide legal training to the government.
Focus on that message for a moment: 12 months rent back! Is this justified? Yes, sure is: as a landlord without a Selective License in one of the licensing areas in Leicester, you do not have the right to let your property. Therefore, a claim in Court to issue a Rent Repayment Order cannot fail, by definition.
So, let’s say your property is bringing in £1000 a month: without any of the costs of the license itself, and any of the prospective fines that may follow, you would have to hand back £12,000 to the tenants…even if they were already in arrears, for instance.
The Council isn’t hanging around. Tenants will be informed exactly how to make a claim against an unlicensed landlord, and helped to do just that by Justice for Tenants.
Sending Out Letters To Unlicensed Properties in the Leicester Selective Licensing areas
In addition, we are now handling license applications for landlords who have been reached at their homes by direct letters from Leicester City Council. The landlords concerned have told us that they knew nothing about the scheme as they live far away from Leicester and had just not picked up on the issue. But, as ever, ignorance of the law is no defence.
The Council position is that you are running a business, and as such you should take a business-like approach to the legal requirements that involves. If a landlord cannot do that, then employ a professional agency to do it instead.
Is a RRO The End Of The Matter?
Sadly no. My previous post on the topic told readers about the stiff fines that can be levied: up to £5000 even on a first offence. And £30,000 civil penalties for serious cases or persistent offenders.
I do recognise that this sounds incredibly gloomy on a painful subject, but the issue is real. Take a look at this alarming case that Ranjan Bhattacharya, a noted landlord advice commentator recently posted:
Landlord Ordered to Pay £15k to Tenant Despite £11k Arrears
This wasn’t a case of Leicester Selective Licensing, but the message is identical: if a rental property doesn’t have the appropriate license, there is no defence against a Rent Repayment Order.
So Is there Help Available with Leicester Selective Licensing?
Yes. And honestly, I pretty much implore landlords who are in the affected areas but who don’t have their license yet, to take at least the first step and download our completely FREE no-obligation checklist that will guide you through what you need to do when applying for your license.
Click here to get your checklist.
We Can Do The Heavy Lifting For You on Selective Licensing
Checking the myriad of compliance issues that are required to get a license is not always the easiest of tasks. You may find it easier to get the Northwood Leicester team to be your licensing sherpas. Simply fill in your details in the page below and we’ll get things organised.
We organise the application for Selective Licensing so you don’t have to, saving you hours of work. We spot any inconsistent things in your current documentation, and sort them before you waste time (and money) on a fruitless failed application. For just £299 plus VAT we’ll get it all sorted, including the mandatory home inspection visits, which will also help you get all that onerous documentation put right once and for all. Here’s a special deal too: if you bring your property to us for Full Management for a two year contract so that you don’t have to worry about compliance ever again, we’ll even cut the license application fee by half.
Get In Touch With a WhatsApp Message
Here’s our direct WhatsApp number for landlords who want to chat through the situation on their own properties. We’re happy to help, any time: WhatsApp dedicated support line: 07594 476403
As ever, remember we are landlords ourselves: we understand the issues you face. My own portfolio has been affected, I’ve done the hard yards in making applications and attending home inspections, and I’ve paid for licenses. My team have done dozens of applications for our clients, and we know the Leicester City Council team well enough to be able to gather advice and understand their position.
And as always our guiding principle is summed up by our slogan of many years:
Northwood Leicester: Relax, We’ll Take Care Of It.
