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With the August 1st deadline almost here, Nottingham has only received licensing applications from 10% of the city’s properties. There are 32,000 properties in the designated areas covered by the new landlord licensing scheme require a landlord licence. Up until the 28th of July, only 3,140 applications had been received by the council.
Landlords who miss the deadline could face fines of up to £30,000, and in serious cases, they could end up being prosecuted.
Unhappy Landlords
Landlords affected by the scheme are not happy. They claim the scheme has been poorly designed and one letting agent in the city has described it as “an absolute shambles”. Landlords and letting agents say they have not been given enough time to submit applications.
“To get all these properties done in one month was impossible from the start,” said David Thomas from Liberty Gate.
“They are lucky they have 3,140 [applications]. It can take weeks to get one application through and I have 120 I need to submit.”
Landlords Selling Up
Many landlords are predicting that rents will go up from the beginning of August. David Thomas estimates that rents will need to increase by around £25/month to cover the extra cost of the licence. Landlords with multiple properties will be feeling the pinch, with many saying they intend to sell up. One professional landlord claims she’s been hit by a £16k bill and she can’t afford the extra expenditure.
The council is expected to raise £20 million from the scheme.
