On the 28th December 2017, Housing and Planning Minister, Alok Sharma announced his intention to extend mandatory licensing (subject to parliamentary clearance). Read the full article.
The key points to take away are:
- National mandatory licensing currently only applies if properties are 3 or more storeys. This is being changed so flats and 1 to 2-storey properties will be brought within scope.
- Rooms used for sleeping by 1 adult will have to be no smaller than 6.51 square metres, and those slept in by 2 adults will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres. Rooms slept in by children of 10 years and younger will have to be no smaller than 4.64 square metres.
- The Government has also set out details of criminal offences which will automatically ban someone from being a landlord. From April this year, someone convicted of offences such as burglary and stalking can be added to the database of rogue landlords and be barred from renting properties.
The news has also been widely reported in the press, you can read these articles here:
The decision to extend mandatory licensing will see many councils faced with a significant uplift in the number of licensable properties. Councils that do not have the capacity or infrastructure in place to cope with such a rise need to prepare now.
About verso™
Rocktime's verso™ software provides a flexible, cost-effective platform that can be rapidly deployed and used as a standalone system or fully integrated with existing legacy software such as Civica Flair, Northgate M3 or Idox Uniform. verso™ is designed from the ground up to quickly sort and process applications from multiple licensing schemes such as mandatory, selective and additional licensing and will ensure application data is complete, validated and the appropriate charges are applied during check-out. verso™ has Intelligent built-in business logic that deals with representations, portfolio landlords, licence conditions, licence documentation and offers a bespoke multi-user workflow system. Council officers will benefit from verso™'s unique dashboard system that will prioritise high risk applications and renewals, saving time and increasing productivity.
For more information please visit our dedicated verso™ website, or via The UK Government's digital marketplace.
That's why we're giving councils new powers. So they have the tools they need to put rogue landlords out of business - for good.