NLA celebrates licensing victory in Milton Keynes
The National Landlords Association (NLA) is celebrating a licensing victory and is delighted to announce that Milton Keynes City Council has abandoned plans to introduce a proposed city-wide Selective Licensing scheme.
The NLA have been leading the fight against licensing through its local landlord members, meeting with local authorities and action groups as well as launching a social media campaign. Milton Keynes Council concluded last week that the introduction of a city-wide licensing scheme would not solve the issues of poor housing standards, anti-social behaviour and low housing demand in the area.
In a further piece of good news for landlords, the council also cut the license fee on all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) by over half, from £800 to £300.
Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the NLA said:
“This is fantastic news for landlords in Milton Keynes and we thank all those involved in reaching this conclusion.
“Selective licensing is a powerful tool at the disposal of local authorities, but it should only be used when appropriate. The clear message from Milton Keynes is that they intend to take a more proactive stance and focus on the existing powers they have available to combat poor standards in the area, an approach the NLA has long argued is more effective.
“It’s important that the NLA represents the views of its members who saw this as the wrong move. Nevertheless, we’re committed to working with Milton Keynes City Council to improve property standards in the area, to promote best practice and to encourage co-operation between the council, landlords and their tenants."
