Avenues Phase 1 Licensing Area - Midterm evaluation summary

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The Avenues Phase 1 Landlord Licensing Scheme has been in place for four years and is about to enter its fifth and final year.

The information below sets out progress over the last two years and sets out our priorities for the remaining time of the scheme.

The figures within this report were gathered up until 1 September 2022. There will be a final evaluation report once the scheme expires.

Contents

Working arrangements during the COVID pandemic
Number and status of properties in Phase 1 of the Avenues
Selective Landlord Licensing (SLL) enforcement
Working with licence holders
Closer working with tenants
Property inspections at scheme start
Property standards
Closer agency working
Rates of antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Avenues 1
Rates of crime in Avenues 1
ASB linked to tenants in the private rented sector
Council complaints
Empty properties
Resident turnover
Phase 1 licence data
Priorities for 2022 - 2023

Working arrangements during the COVID pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic placed significant demands for Council Environmental Health Teams to redeploy resources. This included the Council having to re-prioritise their resource, which was already in limited supply, onto pandemic related compliance and enforcement whilst at the same time continuing to do existing work as far as possible.

Officers from the Private Sector Housing Team carried out additional duties to enforce COVID restrictions and ensure business compliance throughout many different sectors in Gateshead. Officers used their transferable skills as enforcement officers to ensure businesses were complainant with COVID restrictions during these unprecedented times.

During this time the licensing team still responded to complaints regarding property standards and repairs, although the response time for routine repairs was negotiated with landlords and managing agents. The national lockdown had a significant impact within the licensing area and the private rented sector as a whole. There was a surge in complaints made to the team from residents reporting noise and anti-social behaviour (ASB) within the area. The increase in complaints placed an additional strain on the licensing team as residents were less tolerant to noise levels during the national COVID lockdowns.

During the COVID pandemic there were a significant number of families and tenants in the private rented sector that were suffering financially. The team received some prepaid cards to distribute to tenants throughout the Borough within the private rented sector, these were distributed to tenants that were most suffering from hardship due to the pandemic. The cards were a one-off payment that could be used to pay for essentials such as buying food or contributing towards a household bill. Officers within the licensing team distributed these cards to families and households in the licensing areas. These were distributed using officer knowledge and information collected from tenants during their original tenant meetings when their homes were inspected under the licensing regime.

During the COVID pandemic officers from the licensing team carried out welfare checks over the telephone to landlords and Licence Holders. This was to provide advice and guidance during times of uncertainty as we all adjusted to the new ways in working.

Number and status of properties in Phase 1 of the Avenues

In the proposal for the licensing scheme, the Council outlined a number of new work areas and approaches to be incorporated into the delivery of future schemes. Updates have been provided previously on some of these workstreams. Further approaches and how they have been implemented to date are described below.

Selective Landlord Licensing (SLL) enforcement

The Team pledged a commitment to ensure prompt targeting of the evasive and non-compliant landlords as a priority, and as early on in the scheme's lifespan as possible. We also made a pledge to take a lighter touch throughout the scheme to the consistently compliant landlords. The following provides information on how this was initially achieved at scheme commencement and thereafter.

Enforcement action

In 2016 the legislation in relation to the sanctions for failing to apply for a landlord licence (including breach of licence conditions) was updated to allow Local Authorities to issue a financial penalty as an alternative to prosecution. The message from Central Government is that they expect Local Authorities to consider and use this approach. The following table outlines the formal action taken in the redesignated area to date:

SLL enforcement policy

The team pledged a commitment to ensure prompt targeting of the evasive and non-compliant landlords as a priority, and as early on in the scheme's lifespan as possible. We also pledged to take a lighter touch on landlords that were consistently compliant throughout the licensing scheme. The following provides information on how this has been achieved:

Unannounced property inspections

In the first few months of the scheme all unlicensed properties were identified and visited unannounced by licensing officers, a police officer from Operation Vienna and immigration (if required). The order and timing of visits was intelligence led using private sector housing and police data. Those properties that had the most demand over the preceding two years (noise, Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), property condition concerns, complaints etc) were visited first.

69 properties were inspected, some in the early hours and some late at night. Approximately one half of the properties were found to be in a decent standard with no tenancy concerns. In the remaining half some of the following matters were identified - presence of Category 1 and 2 hazards under The Housing Health and Safety Rating System, poor management practices, overcrowding, occupiers of whom the landlord was unaware, remnants of cannabis cultivation, brothels, and waste accumulations.

The team worked with the landlords and tenants of these properties to resolve the above issues and licence applications were subsequently submitted by the majority. Those landlords who continued to evade making an application were then progressed down the enforcement route. 

Identification of unlicensed properties

The turnover of property tenure is continually monitored with colleagues in Council Tax to allow the identification of non-licensed homes that now require a licence. The team also carry out proactive monitoring of the licensing area to identify unlicensed properties. As a result of this auditing, eight properties have been found to be operating without a licence in place, with full investigations and enforcement action being considered or already taken.

Breaches of licence conditions

Once a licence has been issued, the team monitor all licensable properties for any breach of licensing conditions. Breaches to licence conditions may come to light following receipt of a complaint, a property or area visit, via the annual review of a licence or by other means. In some circumstances the licence holder will be issued with a written warning or breach of licence conditions, as well as being provided with advice and training to prevent a recurrence. In other or more severe circumstances, considered to be a serious breach of licence conditions, a licence may be revoked, and formal action considered.

10 Licence Holders have received 21 breaches and licenses have been formally breached where non serious, non-compliances with licence conditions have been identified totalling 43 conditions. Formal action will be more appropriate in more severe circumstances, including breaches to mandatory licence conditions. Non-compliance with Common conditions being breached include failing to undertake satisfactory tenant checks, failure to return the licence annual review, no inventory at tenancy start, failing to provide and test smoke alarms, falling to manage the property effectively.

Formal action for licence condition breaches

Four financial penalties have been issued for serious breaches of licence conditions in phase 1 of the Avenues.

Working with licence holders

Reduced annual licence review requests for consistent returns

Licence Holders who were consistent in returning their annual review have received a lighter touch from the team. This approach means there has been less administration for the compliant landlords and increased time for the team to concentrate on the non-complaint Licence Holders. Annual reviews for landlords with multiple licenses as much as possible have been requested at the same time to make returns easier. This approach is not available to Licence Holders that has been subject to formal action or investigation by the Council.

Development of an online application platform

Throughout 2018-2019 the licensing team worked closely with the Council's Digital Team to develop an online portal for licence applications. This was to make the application process easier and more effective for both applicants and back-office processing, where documents and payments can be submitted online. A number of Licence Holders with portfolios spanning from large to small were invited in for testing prior to the online form going live, where feedback was provided, and further tweaks made.

The online application portal went live in 2020 and feedback has been very positive.

Development and introduction of an online platform for licence annual reviews

Further to the success and efficiencies of the online application form, the team have also developed an online platform for the annual review of a licence. Each year we write out to Licence Holder's at around the anniversary of the licence being issued where we request the completion of the annual review form to demonstrate ongoing compliance with licence conditions. This process has been developed and it can now be completed online, and Licence Holders are sent the appropriate web link when the review of their licence is due. The team have recently facilitated two training events to support Licence Holders to complete their annual reviews electronically.

Licence Holder training - accredited landlords

The team worked in partnership with the National Residential Landlords Association - NRLA - (previously the RLA and NLA) to deliver a one-day bespoke accreditation or foundation training course to Licence Holders. Attendees who then passed the course assessment and go onto become accredited members with one of the associations for the duration of the licence. All landlords that participated benefitted from a discount per licence fee.

Since April 2018 there have been six training days undertaken. 42 landlords have attended training becoming accredited with either the RLA or NLA - representing 110 out of 224 properties or 49% within the area.

Additional training free to all Licence Holders

Prior to the COVID pandemic the team offered a number of free training courses which were facilitated in person. The training courses enabled Licence Holders to maintain and improve their competency in housing management and to assist in licence condition compliance. Subject matters covered in the training sessions since the scheme commencement included dealing with and responding to ASB, safeguarding, domestic abuse and violence in the private rented sector, modern day slavery and human trafficking.

In response to the pandemic the team started to deliver training courses online via Microsoft Teams. 20 training sessions were delivered in person and 11 training sessions have been delivered on-line. In total there have been 478 attendees or Licence Holders cumulatively across all sessions.

The recent training events covered licence condition monitoring, tenant referencing and vetting service, Licence Holder support to completing annual reviews, unlawful evictions and hoarding. The free training courses will continue on-line in Spring 2023.

Selective Licensing online content and webpages

A number of documents were developed and made available for Licence Holders to assist in management and condition compliance.

Please visit Forms, guidance and documents.

Please contact the team if you have any suggestions for content on the Licence Holder support pages.

Safety certificate reminder service

This service continues. An email will be sent in advance of expiry as a gentle reminder, with a request for the certificate to then be provided once issued.

Closer working with tenants

During scheme consultation the team pledged to work closer with tenants and this has been secured by the following actions:

• police officers from Operation Vienna have increased visibility in the area by regular visits and foot beats in the licensing areas
• officers dedicated to specific streets for property inspections, licence issue and scheme implementation
• the team have carried out tenant meetings at the time of the property inspection or when notified of changes in tenancy

Tenant meetings

An in-depth meeting has been held with each occupier of a licensable home at the time of the property inspection. These meetings are repeated when we learn of a change in tenant. Prior to visiting, background information on that tenant or family is obtained so that Officers are aware of what they are likely to encounter and to make the best use of the contact. In a lot of cases problems within the home and the root cause can affect the local community. During each meeting the following has been discussed with the occupier:

• tenant responsibilities in relation to waste and refuse, confirming the tenant has both a waste and recycling bin at the start of the tenancy and the correct bin is being used.

Officers also confirm that tenants know their waste collection day and provide advice on bulky waste collections and advise on waste accumulations. Residents are readvised that it is not acceptable for items to be placed in the rear lanes.

• tenancy advice and responsibilities, advice to tenants that if they ever wish to vacate the property, for example, giving the correct notice and rental payment obligations
• tenancy obligations - paying rent, property upkeep, reporting concerns, abiding by the tenancy agreement
• any personal issues in which tenants feel they require advice or support, including officers referring to support agencies

There have been 487 tenant meetings undertaken. Through property inspections and tenants' meetings, Officers have uncovered a wide range of complex social circumstances, that have led to referrals and engagement with a large range of partners and agencies to assist the team in providing suitable support to vulnerable families and individuals. Examples of referrals have been vast over the licensing scheme to date, and include:

• alcohol and substance dependency or misuse
• debt problems - rent, utility bills, cost of living crisis
• parenting concerns or poor school attendance
• mental health issues, depression, stress, anxiety, loneliness
• domestic violence and abuse
• threats to tenancy
• hoarding, filthy and verminous premises or person
• criminal behaviour - drugs, theft, sex work, exploitation
• employability barriers
• safeguarding concerns
• animal welfare concerns
• accumulations of waste within the curtilage or rear yards
• social exclusion
• energy efficiency, thermal comfort concerns and fuel poverty

Provision of a tenant vetting or reference service

The free tenant vetting service to support Licence Holders comply with their licence condition was reintroduced and remains available. The vetting service is available to help and support landlords with properties in the selective landlord licensing areas to determine the suitability of future tenants, contributing towards area improvements including the prevention of anti-social behaviour and crime. Licence Holders are able to undertake their own checks as long as they are robust, fit for purpose and include details of former housing history as a minimum.

Licence Holders have previously been provided with what is accepted as a satisfactory reference check. There have been 44 vetting checks undertaken in Phase 1 of the Avenues alone, the outcomes have been as follows:

A third of checks have resulted in a Category D outcome where the applicant failed to meet suitability criteria.

More information on the service and the categories can be found on the Tenant vetting service pages.

The service available from the licensing team is unique in that it has access to Police data via the partnership with Northumbria Police and Operation Vienna. This information is not available to any other referencing service.

The team and officers from Op Vienna are available to provide additional support to Licence Holders if presence is needed at tenancy start up or at property visits.

The vetting checks are now being undertaken in much shorter timescales due to our direct contact with the Police and officers from the Gateshead Housing Company. The average time for a decision is within one working week.

Our regular audits of tenure change confirm where new tenants are moving in and out. Where our tenant vetting service is not being used, we continue to contact Licence Holders to ask for evidence of vetting checks and compliance with this licensing condition.

Licence Holder steering group

It has been the intention, since proposal of the scheme, to set up a Licence Holder forum or steering group. It was proposed that this would be established once the majority of licenses across the schemes were issued. Unfortunately, this was delayed due to the volume of issues uncovered in the licensing area initially and the resulting enforcement work, which became a priority. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss scheme implementation, obtain feedback and share information on scheme delivery and development. The first meeting was organised for the Spring/Summer of 2020. Unfortunately, the meeting was unable to proceed as the UK then entered an 18-month period of regular lock downs and restrictions due to the COVID pandemic.

During the pandemic officers from the Private Sector Housing Team were called upon to provide support in Gateshead's critical response to the pandemic in terms of business compliance with restrictions and overall public protection. During this time, and through the duration of the schemes, Licence Holders have been sent updates and newsletters in relation to the work of the team in the licensing areas, scheme updates as well as information on changes to legal requirements. Licence Holders have also benefitted from an extensive training schedule, which were delivered in person initially and now are delivered online.

Open lines of communication between the team and Licence Holders have continued, whether this be for advice and support or if we are requesting confirmation of compliance and responding to requests for help from tenants. There are open lines of communication for any concerns or comments to be fed in outside of the platform of the proposed stakeholder meetings.

The team remain committed to facilitating a Licence Holder meeting scheme specific. This will be conducted when the current scheme is evaluated, and this will be replicated for all the remaining schemes. In the meantime, Licence Holders are encouraged to discuss any scheme concerns, observations, or other matters with us directly.

Scheme aims and objectives

For the purposes of this update, some of the baseline data provided at the consultation stage has been revisited to see how the scheme is performing against its intended objectives.

Objective - to improve private rented property conditions and increase the number of accredited homes

Objective - to reduce problems with private rented housing that contribute towards high levels of deprivation via improving housing conditions

Property inspections at scheme start

We have reported in previous updates how although not required within the legislation, the team pledged to undertake a property inspection at all licensable properties. Priority was given to inspect the unlicensed properties first as these were not compliant with the legislation. Priority was then given to those properties where the Licence Holder had chosen not to opt for property accreditation. Properties to be accredited were then subsequently inspected.

Property inspections

Priority was given to inspect the unlicensed properties first as these rental properties were operating outside of the legal framework. These inspections were often carried out in partnership with Northumbria Police due to non-compliance with the Landlord Licensing Scheme.

The team then inspected properties where the licence holder had chosen not to opt for property accreditation. These inspections were carried out by pre-arranged appointments at a day and time convenient for the tenant.

Properties where the Licence Holder had requested accredited property status, these were then subsequently inspected at a day and time that was convenient to the tenant.

Less formal approach for follow up for properties with only Cat 2 hazards

Where Category 2 hazards have been identified during property inspections, many of these have been followed up without a revisit to the property and on the production of evidence to confirm completion of works e.g. photographs, invoices and property visual visits via facetime. This approach was adopted for lower-level Category 2 hazards, and for those Licence Holders who have a good track record for completing schedules of work within the given timescale and demonstrating effective communication with officers in the team.

Property standards

Licensing has enabled the identification of poor or unsafe housing conditions within the area. In the majority of cases, works have been undertaken and completed within the requested timescales.

Inspections have also uncovered issues such as by-passed gas and electrical meters, filthy and/or verminous premises or persons and potential property subsidence.

There have also been cases where it has been necessary to proceed to secure repairs and improvements by use of formal action by use of Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 and other available powers.

Property accreditation

Licence holders who were committed to providing accommodation that meets the Councils Accredited standard benefited from a licence fee discount. 85 properties have been inspected for this purpose, with schedules of works produced and advice and recommendations provided by Officers in relation to housing standards over and above the legal minimum.

57 properties have been accredited to above the legal minimum standard, with a further 5 working towards the standard, representing 40% of licensable homes. The remaining 60% of properties have all been inspected under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, for Category 1 and 2 hazards and improvements undertaken.

Development of an online application platform

Throughout 2018-2019 the team worked closely with the Council's Digital Team to develop an online portal for licence applications. This was to make the application process easier and more effective for both applicants and back-office processing, where documents and payments can be submitted online. A number of Licence Holders with portfolios spanning from large to small were invited in for testing prior to the online form going live, where feedback was provided, and further tweaks made.

The online application portal went live in 2020 and the feedback that has been received from Licence Holders has been very positive.

Development and introduction of an online platform for licence annual reviews

Further to the success and efficiencies of the online application form, the team have also developed an online platform for the annual review of a licence. Each year we write out to Licence Holder's at around the anniversary of the licence being issued where we request the completion of the annual review form to demonstrate ongoing compliance with licence conditions. This process has been developed and it can now be completed online, and Licence Holders are sent the appropriate web link when the review of their licence is due. The team have recently facilitated several training events to support Licence Holders to complete their annual reviews electronically.

Closer agency working

Northumbria Police - Operation Vienna

The team continue to adopt a multi-agency approach to tackling problems in the area. There are three Police Officers embedded in the Selective Landlord Licensing Team. Police Officers from Operation Vienna work closely with officers for scheme implementation but mainly to responding jointly to criminality and anti-social behaviour.

One of the police officers is dedicated to gathering intelligence across the police national database and the differing agencies within the force to identify trends, links, criminality and regular offenders living in or operating within licensing areas. The partnership approach has enabled officers to liaise and gather information on proposed Licence Holders, agents and tenants going through the vetting's service.

The remaining two Police Officers are dedicated to being on the ground each day accompanying licensing officers if required and responding to and investigating policing and criminal matters within the area, including reports of ASB and noise nuisance.

Some notable areas of success of the Operation in the last 18 months have been:

• the service of four Community Protection Warnings on tenants due to unacceptable behaviour
• an increase by the Police in the use of enforcement powers in place available to deal with ASB and criminality
• accompanying licence holders to property visits to communicate with difficult tenants or situations resulting in behaviour moderation
• a number of joint meetings with licence holders, residents and tenants in relation to specific issues
• joint interviewing of offenders under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
• more than 400 police checks on applicants, residents and tenants to ensure conformance with scheme requirements
• the regular presence of licensing officers and police workers in tandem has increased community confidence
• investigations and action taken in a more timely and robust manner to reduce the impact of ASB on the community
• seven Cannabis farms located in Phase 1 - which were all linked to anti-social behaviour
• four Brothels located in Phase 1, which were all linked to anti-social behaviour
• two targeted Police raids intelligence lead due to criminality at two different properties within Phase 1 of the Avenues
• increased number and regular multi agency meetings between the team, housing providers and external partners
• closer monitoring of known offenders living in the area

The Team was delighted in October 2019 when the positive work of the partnership was recognised and shortlisted for a Pride in Policing Awards within Northumbria Police. In recognition of the on-going positive work a further nomination was received for 2022 for the partnership between the Landlord Licensing Team and Operation Vienna.

Rates of antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Avenues 1

The bar chart above shows the rate of ASB reported to the Police per 1000 dwellings covering the Phase 1 Avenues, the rest of Gateshead and England and Wales. The data shows prior to the commencement of the licensing scheme in the Avenues 1, the rate of ASB was substantially higher than the Gateshead average and England and Wales. The rate of ASB reported to the Police significantly reduced over 2018 - 2019 in the first year of the Avenues 1 licencing scheme. During this period there was an increased presence of Police officers in the area due to the intense work being carried out with the Private Sector Housing Team.

There was a significant rise in ASB reported to the Police in 2019. A contributing factor in this rise of reported ASB could have arisen from the information provided to tenants during their tenant meetings, as officers encourage the reporting of ASB. Furthermore, throughout the COVID pandemic and throughout periods of national lockdown, this trend was replicated with high rates of ASB being reported. This trend increased throughout the country as well as Gateshead. However, the rates reported in Avenues 1 was more than double. The rate of ASB reported to the Police has levelled back to approximately the rate reported when the scheme commenced in 2018.

Rate of crime in Avenues 1

The bar chart above shows the rate of crime per 1000 dwellings for the licensing scheme in Avenues Phase 1. The data shows that there was a reduction in crime within the Avenues 1 when licensing was designated in 2018. Throughout Gateshead there was a reduction in crime rates due to the COVID national lockdown as more tenants and occupants were at home during 2020. However, this trend was not replicated in Avenues 1. Since the lifting of the COVID restrictions it is noticeable that the rate of crime reported to the Police is still significantly greater. This rate could also be increased as officers from the licensing team encourage tenants to report incidences of crime to the Police.

It is noted that crime rates have increased nationally since 2016 when the method of crime reporting changed - now any incident reported to the Police which indicates a crime has occurred then this will be recorded as a crime prior to deployment of an officer. Following an investigation, a decision will be made to determine whether a crime has occurred, so this can skew the data that is available.

ASB linked to tenants in the private rented sector

The total incidents have increased year on year since licensing commenced but there has been a reduction in 2021/22 of 22% from the previous year.

The largest reductions as outlined above are in the number of nuisance neighbours and rowdy behaviour being reported to the Police. All data collated from both the Police and Council sources show a significant increase in complaints over the COVID restrictions when occupiers were confined to their properties and were tolerant to rowdy behaviours from their neighbours.

There has been an increase year on year of vulnerable adults and children identified within Phase 1 of the Avenues.

Landlord licensing and the partnership with Northumbria Police has played a key role in reporting of such incidences to the Police. The intensive work with both landlords and residents being undertaken in the areas, not only when problems do arise but in the proactive work being undertaken to try and identify trends, patterns and offenders to try and stop problems before they occur.

Council complaints

To reduce problems with private rented housing, to improve the management of properties and to improve private rented conditions or the number of accredited homes.

Looking at raw data there has been an increase in complaints made to the Council since the first year of licensing. The property inspection regime and offer of discounts for property accreditation has ensured that every home in the area meets the basic minimum housing standard. There has been a significant increase in complaints to the council from residents in relation to issues concerning neighbouring properties e.g. disrepair affecting another property. The licensing team have worked hard to ensure on change of tenant, the team carryout a tenant meeting. This is to ensure tenancies are set up correctly, tenants understand their legal obligations and responsibilities, and that tenants know how to get repairs carried out and who to complain to if necessary. 

The Councils data showed the reporting of noise and ASB complaints has increased over the same period of time and reduced after the COVID lockdown restrictions were lifted. The team are confident that this does not necessarily reflect that more ASB or noise problems are occurring, but more an indication that as relationships are built with residents (via property visits and tenant's meetings) the residents are more likely to feel empowered or have the confidence to request services and know where to do so. It is noted that there has been a significant reduction in the number of ASB complaints in 2022.

Empty properties

The team pledged to reduce the number of empty properties and the length of time that they remain unoccupied.

It is normally considered that 4% of the stock being empty is a healthy sign within the housing market to allow for a changing population and demand. The rate in Avenues 1 remains higher than the GH rate and so further intervention is required in this area. However, it is acknowledged that the rate of empty properties in the Avenues has decreased significantly over the last few years.

There are currently 29 long term empty homes in Avenues 1, these are properties that have empty for more than 6 months. These homes will be targeted in the final year of the licensing scheme and owners will be contacted directly to establish their intentions for the property and to encourage them to be brought back into use. Other feasible options to bring these properties back into use will also be explored.

Resident turnover

To reduce the turnover of occupants

Single turnover rates are double in Avenues 1 in comparison with the rate for the rest of GH. This trend is also replicated for properties with multiple turnovers.

Like with complaints, this is an expected trend. Increases in the first few years of a scheme are commonly experienced as owners who do not wish to be regulated or are unable to obtain a licence may choose to sell their property and also as tenants' behaviour is increasingly monitored and regulated, they also sometimes look to secure tenancies with other housing providers who are not as diligent operating outside of the selective licensing area. Increases in turnover were experienced in the former licensing scheme and are characteristic to areas subject to Selective Landlord Licensing.

Slightly higher rates of turnover are to be expected as more than 70% of the private properties are rented compared to the borough average of 18%.

Phase 1 licence data

Priorities for 2022 - 2023

The above information has allowed us to take stock of where we are with the scheme and consider our priorities for 2022/23. They are as follows:

• increase the use of the vetting's service to ensure all tenants are robustly vetted
• focus on long term empty properties
• ensure effective licence condition monitoring and compliance
• target postcodes with the highest occupant turnover to understand the root cause and consider solutions
• continue to develop and strengthen the Operation Vienna partnership to continue the trend of reductions in ASB and criminality that affects the community
• tackle the on-going complaints and dissatisfaction about the amount of fly tipping, abandoned bins and accumulations of waste on the rear lanes
• increase the topics covered in the free training program offered to all Licence Holders to improve their knowledge and competency

The licensing team are committed to improving the area, by working in partnership with landlords, Licence Holders, and tenants. The team will continue to support compliant Licence Holders and take necessary enforcement action on those that are not complaint with their legal obligations.