Hackney Council has been called out for continuing to process additional and selective landlord licence applications five months after both schemes ended.

An investigation by London Property Licensing (LPL) found that the authority was still issuing licences in March this year - despite the schemes ending on 30th September 2023.

LPL says the Housing Act 2004 makes clear that scheme designations cease to have effect on the closing date and a licence can only be granted or refused if the property is required to be licensed.

Local authorities typically process all applications before their schemes end, cancel outstanding applications and refund the fee, or place the application on hold if they are about to implement a new scheme. A notice on Hackney Council’s website said licence applications were still being processed this week.

LPL’s Freedom of Information request submitted in April 2024 asking how many applications remained outstanding when both schemes ended and how many had been approved since that date went unanswered. Last month, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ruled that Hackney had breached section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act.

High court

It was given 30 working days from 16th July to respond, lodge an appeal with the First Tier Tribunal or risk the ICO referring the matter to the High Court where it can be dealt with as contempt. No response has been forthcoming, and Hackney Council did not comment.

Richard Tacagni (pictured), MD of London Property Licensing, says he’s never seen a local authority interpret and apply the legislation in this way. “The whole situation is causing considerable confusion to landlords and agents who are unsure what’s happening. Questions also remain about whether licensing fees can be retained by the council if the processing and approval of the licence did not start until after the schemes ended.”

It would be for the courts or the first-tier tribunal to determine whether it’s legal for councils to approve applications after a scheme has ended, Tacagni tells LandlordZONE.

“In my professional opinion, a local authority must stop processing licence applications when the scheme ends. Landlords may wish to seek professional or legal advice about the validity of any licence granted after the scheme ended.”