Purpose

On 16th January Cabinet approved the submission to the Secretary
of State for a new Selective Licensing Scheme for the next 5 years.
It was proposed that the Scheme, and an Additional Licensing Scheme
(following public consultation) would be delivered by a third
party. Following a full procurement exercise, the contract can be
awarded.

Decision

Cabinet considered the report and RESOLVED to:
 
Authorisethe
award of a services concession contract to The Home
SafeScheme Ltd
for theadministration of a Selective Licencing Schemefor
private sector housing covering the area approved by council on the
25 January 2023and included at Appendix 1,subject to approval forthe
Scheme being granted by the Secretary of
State.  

Reasons for the decision

The council has a statutory responsibility with regards
to regulating housing standards in the private rented sector. The
introduction of a Selective Licensing Scheme is one of several
measures designed to improve housing standards in the
sector. 

 

A previous Selective Licensing Scheme ended in October
2021 after its 5-year period, and consequentlythere has been a gap in the regulatory controls
in the locality. Housing standard complaints and officer
inspections confirm there remain properties providingpoor housing condition
standards. 

 

Awarding a contract for the administration of the
Selective Licensing Scheme to the third-party
provides the infrastructure and associated
resources necessaryto implement the Scheme, the service provider
working collaboratively with the council to ensure an effective and
efficient service is
provided. 

Alternative options considered

Option One (Status
Quo) 

Continuation of the current delivery
arrangementdoes not provide the resources nor the operational frameworknecessaryto materially improve housing standards
across the breadth of our rental sector.
The arrangementis in addition not sustainable financially as much of the current
staffing was funded out of the previousSelective Licensing Scheme, therefore
without additionalrevenue the size of the team would have to be
reduced to reflect cash limits. The status quo position would rely
on the Mandatory Licensing Scheme alone in conjunction with the
enforcement sanctions available to
officers.