Propertymark has recently issued responses to various consultations on additional and selective licensing, engaging with local authorities across Enfield, Reading, Gateshead, and Wandsworth. In each case, the trade body has urged a reconsideration of the current approach to local licensing schemes, emphasizing the need for more effective strategies.

In parallel, Propertymark also addressed a consultation from the London Borough of Lambeth, which is contemplating the introduction of Article 4 Directions for small Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). Under this proposal, landlords would lose their Permitted Development Rights (PDR), necessitating formal planning permission to convert standard dwellings into small HMOs within the Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard’s areas.

Propertymark, however, contends that this proposed policy could backfire, potentially driving up rent levels, restricting the availability of affordable housing, and failing to significantly enhance HMO property conditions. The organization also flagged concerns regarding the potential reduction in student accommodation and the subsequent impact on the local economy.

Zooming out to the broader issue of property licensing, Propertymark asserts that current schemes are often blunt instruments, ill-suited to improving standards across the board. These programs, they argue, end up penalizing compliant letting agents and landlords with hefty fees, while rogue operators slip through the cracks, undetected and unpunished. Furthermore, these schemes drain valuable council resources that are consumed by administrative tasks rather than enforcement.

Concerns were further raised about the potential strain on housing supply, questioning whether local authorities can effectively uphold standards given the historically low prosecution rates under these schemes. There’s also scepticism about whether these programs deliver value for money.

Yet, addressing poor management practices and substandard properties remains essential for the betterment of the sector and enhancing tenants’ living conditions. To this end, Propertymark advocates for an annual "MOT" for rental properties, which could replace the costly and discretionary licensing schemes currently in place. Such an approach, they argue, would streamline enforcement and offer clearer guidance to agents and landlords on maintaining or improving property standards.

This proposed "MOT" would cover all aspects of property conditions, from energy efficiency to the minimum health and safety standards required to ensure safe and habitable living spaces.

These local consultations on property licensing coincide with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government’s (MHCLG) exploration of how to implement a national digital database for the private rented sector (PRS). Propertymark has highlighted that a national database could render local licensing redundant, creating unnecessary overlap and duplication with the national scheme.

Tim Thomas, Policy and Campaigns Officer at Propertymark, remarked: “Debate around the Renters’ Rights Bill should be seen as an opportunity to consider fresh ideas in improving standards within the private rented sector in England.

“It is clear that as local authorities call for the reintroduction of licencing schemes for an additional five-year period, they have been unsuccessful in their aim in improving standards.

“The UK Government’s proposed database should make local authority licencing unnecessary, and rather than reintroduce unsuccessful schemes, MHCLG should concentrate on how national licencing can accommodate the important role that letting agents play in managing properties and ensuring landlords raise standards.”