The Westminster City Council has announced the implementation of a new selective license scheme for private rented housing, which will affect the rental sector in the large London region.
The new scheme, which will cover 15 of the 18 rooms in the city, will apply to all private income properties, excluding houses in multiple occupation (HMO) that are already covered by existing mandatory and additional licenses schemes.
The local authority says that this decisive movement aims to address bad housing conditions and reduce antisocial behavior by attacking dishonest owners and bring quality properties lower to acceptable living standards.
The Westminster City Council carried out a legal consultation process before approaching the scheme, as revealed in October last year.
The Council commissioned Cadence Innova, an independent consulting with experience in public sector participation, to carry out an extensive series of consultation activities. These included dissemination with owners, tenants, residents and other key stakeholders. Cadence Innova has reviewed and informed independently about the answers and findings of the consultation.
CLLR Matt Noble, member of the Cabinet for Regeneration and Rolers, said: “The selective license scheme is about supporting the responsible owners and ensuring that all Westminster residents have access to safe, safe and well mining housing, we are, we are staying, we are tenants, but also to support the owners who do the right thing.”
Once the decision enters into force, the Council will formally designate the selective license areas. The local authority says that the full details, including the start date of the scheme and the orientation about when and how license owners can be requested, will be published in due time.
