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Manchester City Council is debating whether to introduce a new landlord licensing scheme in a bid to deal with overcrowding and anti-social behaviour in the city’s private rental sector. The council introduced ‘The Manchester Rental Pledge’ in 2015, but although the scheme got off to a flying start, increasing immigration has led to a number of problems in some areas of the city.
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Council to Fight Slum Landlords
Councillors have been lobbying for the council to take action against so-called ‘slum landlords’. These landlords are said to allow overcrowding and anti-social behaviour in their properties, which is causing problems in the wider community.
Landlord Consultation in Four Areas
The council is currently consulting in four problem areas: Moston, Old Moat, Crumpsall, and Rusholme. These areas have the worst private housing and the most social problems. If there is sufficient support and the scheme does go ahead, landlords will be required to pay an annual selective licensing fee. Should this happen, the council can then issue on the spot fines should landlords fail to manage their properties.
Manchester landlords don’t need a license to operate at the moment, unless they are running HMOs. To tick this box, a house has to have more than one household in residence, share facilities, and be at least three storeys high.
The council tried out a selective licensing scheme in 2007, but it was abandoned in 2011 after the council concluded it was causing bad feeling and was expensive to administer.
