Coventry councillors look set to give the go-ahead to extending the city’s additional licensing scheme, raising the fee for a five-year licence from £840 to £916.

The scheme for smaller HMOs was first brought in in 2020, and next week the authority will consider approving another five years from May 2025 so it can tackle issues such as bad management and anti-social behaviour.

It’s estimated that Coventry has the 14th highest number of HMOs in England and Wales - about 6,800 or 26% of the PRS - and is a keen enforcer; the NRLA found that between 2021 and 2023 the council was the top ranked authority for HMO related civil penalties (193) and third for issuing civil penalties in all private sector rented properties (207).

Improving

The proposal follows a consultation earlier this year which found that 48% of people agreed that the current licensing scheme has been effective in improving the condition and management of privately rented properties in Coventry, while 32% disagreed.

Several landlords felt that not enough was being done to tackle rogue landlords while some felt there were inconsistencies in inspections. They argued that they lacked the experience to tackle some of the burdens placed upon them, such as anti-social behaviour and waste management and told the council it already had a wealth of enforcement powers to tackle poor standards.

However, councillor David Welsh (pictured), cabinet member for housing and communities, says: “There has been a lot of good work over the past four years, but there is still more to do and extending the scheme will allow us to be more proactive and to challenge bad landlords and let them know they must improve standards or face enforcement action.”

The new scheme is due to go live on 4th May 2025.