SUMMARY AND CONSIDERATION OF CONSULTATION FEEDBACK

Consultee type	Issue Raised	Consideration
Landlords and Residents	Fees will be passed on through rent increases to tenants	We are mindful of the impact that charging a fee to landlords could have in terms of rents and charges to tenants and agree that it is inevitable that in many cases fees shall be passed on to tenants via rents. The £695 standard fee to be charged amounts to £2.67 per week across the lifetime of the scheme. A range of discounts shall be included within the final scheme, including discounts for accredited landlords and landlords who own multiple properties, which would reduce the potential weekly cost in many cases. Plus, there will also be a discount for landlords who had the same property licensed within the previous designations of Scarborough North and Scarborough Central. In addition it is important to note that the fee covers a licensable property for 5 years and does not apply to each individual tenancy. Given that a high proportion of the stock in this area is typically flatted this means that costs are typically spread out over a number of units for many landlords. The Council is very much mindful of the impact the fee could have of landlords who own single units of accommodation and fees shall be structured in such a way to provide a reduction in cost to those landlords. Rents within the identified area are about 35% lower than the Borough average and 50% lower than the national average. Ultimately however, the Council needs to decide whether the need to provide additional regulation to improve the standard or private rented accommodation within the areas (for the benefit of tenants) out-weights the cost of fees and rents.
Landlords, Residents and Landlord Association	Landlords will sell properties or convert to holiday lets	It is acknowledged that some landlords may sell properties or convert to holiday lets. However, this trend has already happened in recent years, mainly due to other pressures and market factors. Evidence from previous schemes has also shown that in a high proportion of cases where a landlord sells a property that it has been purchased by another landlord for rented property, and has been re-licensed as a result
Landlords and residents	Wrong area/should be extended to other areas/why this area again/why certain streets have been included	The area has been chosen following extensive data analysis, which identified it as still meeting key indicators set by the Government for designating a Selective Licensing scheme. An analysis of adjoining areas was also undertaken, and as a result, some adjoining streets have been included in the proposed designation, which were not previously licensed. Extending Selective Licensing to other areas can only done if data demonstrates that they meet the indicators as set out by the Government for Selective Licensing. The Council has commissioned consultants to undertake a study to assess the private rented sector across the whole of North Yorkshire. This would include identifying locations where there is a concentration of private rented properties and correlate with other factors such as deprivation, health inequalities, energy efficiency etc. The outcome of this, is that there may be other areas within North Yorkshire, which may need to be considered for Selective Licensing.
Landlords and residents	Proposal is just a money making scheme for the Council	By law, the Council cannot use fee income to pay for anything other than costs associated with the administration of the Selective Licensing regime. Fees shall be used to pay for additional staff to undertake inspections
Residents	Needs to be regular inspection and effective enforcement	The purpose of Selective Licensing is to help the Council tackle issues associated with poorly managed private rented property in a more proactive, effective and co-ordinated way. All licensed properties within the licensed area will receive at least an initial inspection and follow up inspections will also be undertaken where required. The Council is very much mindful of the need to ensure that the scheme is delivered in a meaningful way and that issues identified through the licensing process are dealt with effectively, including through, where needed, the use of enforcement action against landlords. The Council has prosecuted landlords in its previous and current licensing schemes both for failing to apply for a licence and for breaches of licensing conditions. The Council has also undertaken other enforcement action, such as Improvement Notices and Prohibition Orders of landlords in the licensing area
Residents	Concern whether scheme would address ASB	It is important to note that Selective Licensing is being taken forward within the context of an enhanced level of joint partnership working between key agencies, including the Police and Fire Service. The Community Impact Team pools resources, powers and expertise where needed. The work of this team is vital in supporting the Council to tackle ASB in the area and very much compliments the proposed licensing regime.
Residents	Concerns over Fly tipping/rubbish dumping etc. within area and general environment	Selective Licensing shall help to resolve problems with waste as it places an additional obligation on landlords to ensure that refuse is disposed of properly and that the external areas of properties are maintained to a reasonable standard. With regards to fly tipping, whilst Selective Licensing won’t specifically tackle this problem, the extra resources provided by the scheme within the area, will mean that problems of fly tipping will be more regularly identified and we will be able to support other services to address fly tipping in the area. The council will also give consideration to explore options around a wider neighbourhood renewal approach within the Selective licensing area, which would complement selective licensing and bring meaningful environmental improvements to the area.
Landlords	Blanket approach: Responsible landlords are being penalised to cover costs to tackle bad landlords	The legislation does require that all landlords within a given area are required to operate with a licence and it is accepted that within that model some responsible landlords shall be captured by this regime. However, the needs analysis undertaken also shows that a very large proportion of the stock within the area is poorly managed and of an inadequate standard and the need to tackle these issues outweighs the cost of additional regulatory burden on responsible landlords. The proposed scheme is to the benefit of the whole community, including responsible landlords, who over time may see the value of their stock portfolio and rental income increase when issues affecting neighbouring properties such as anti-social behaviour are tackled in a more co-ordinated way. The final scheme shall include discounts to responsible landlords who are members of any of the following bodies: National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Safeagent, Propertymark, Eastern Landlords Association (ELA), Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) .
Landlords and Landlord Association	Fees are too high/unfair tax on landlords	As stated above, the £695 standard fee to be charged amounts to £2.67 per week across the lifetime of the scheme. A range of discounts shall be included within the final scheme, including discounts for accredited landlords and landlords who own multiple properties, which would reduce the potential weekly cost in many cases. Plus, there will also be a discount for landlords who had the same property licensed within the previous designations of Scarborough North and Scarborough Central. In addition it is important to note that the fee covers a licensable property for 5 years and does not apply to each individual tenancy. Given that a high proportion of the stock in this area is typically flatted this means that costs are typically spread out over a number of units for many landlords. The Council is very much mindful of the impact the fee could have of landlords who own single units of accommodation and fees shall be structured in such a way to provide a reduction in cost to those landlords.
Landlord Association	Concerns that not within remit of landlords to address ASB	Licensing conditions reflect this and will require copy of ASB plan on request and for licence holders to co-operate with SBC, the Police and other agencies in tackling ASB. Support and advice will also be provided to landlords on tackling ASB and resolving complaints
	Need for regular monitoring of outcomes of the scheme to demonstrate improvement and wider impacts of the scheme	An annual review of the current schemes will be undertaken. The annual report reports on the following indicators: · Applications received and Licences issued · Inspections undertaken and outcome of inspections including Category 1 hazards identified and resolved · Enforcement and tackling anti-social behaviour · Wider benefits/impacts including property values/rentals, turnover of stock and empty homes, displacement to other areas, landlord engagement etc. All of these indicators will be monitored on a regular basis and will form part of the evaluation/review process of the scheme during the final year of operation. In addition feedback on the current schemes will be provided to landlords through the Landlord Forums
Landlord Association	ASB originating from other sources	It is acknowledged that ASB within the area emanates from a range of sources, especially as the proposed area covers both the town centre and the main tourist heart of Scarborough. However, there is also widespread evidence of ASB form PRS properties within the proposed area. The Council has worked with its partners including the Police to address ASB form residents and visitors to PRS properties over the course of the previous Selective Licensing designations and will continue to take a joint approach to addressing such issues over the course of the designation.
Landlord Association	Concern whether Council has sufficient resources as larger scheme then previously	The Council has developed a financial and workflow model, which identifies the level of resources required to undertake the scheme. This model has been used for the previous licensing schemes and has proved to be accurate in resourcing the scheme appropriately. Even with the larger scheme, there will be only be the equivalent  of 3 FTE’s required to operate the scheme, across it’s lifetime. The Council currently employs 4 Selective Licensing Officers on its current designations and these staff will be gradually moved across onto the current scheme when the scheme commences. As a result, there will only be a need to recruit 0.5 FTE extra posts for the scheme.
Landlord Association	Rogue landlords would not apply	The Council is able to use a range of sources, including Council Tax records to identify private rented properties and landlords within the designated area. We also have an effective process for chasing up landlords who have not applied and have also prosecuted landlords who have failed to apply. In addition, as the proposed scheme covers two previous licensing schemes, we already have contact details for the majority of landlords who will have properties in the area. As a result, we have been able to identify what we believe our all landlords operating in a licensing area, and have been able to ensure that they have applied for a licence
Landlord Association	Suggested discount for  Association members	The final scheme shall include discounts to responsible landlords who are members of any of the following bodies: National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Safeagent, Propertymark, Eastern Landlords Association (ELA), Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).
Landlord Association	More clarity required from Council on enforcement activity and proposals to increase enforcement activity across North Yorkshire	All licensed properties within the licensed area will receive at least an initial inspection and follow up inspections will also be undertaken where required. The Council is very much mindful of the need to ensure that the scheme is delivered in a meaningful way and that issues identified through the licensing process are dealt with effectively, including through, where needed, the use of enforcement action against landlords. The Council has prosecuted landlords in its previous and current licensing schemes both for failing to apply for a licence and for breaches of licensing conditions. The Council has also undertaken other enforcement action, such as Improvement Notices and Prohibition Orders of landlords in the licensing area. The Council through funding from the DLUHC Pathfinder Project has been able to increase its resources across the whole of North Yorkshire, which has benefited, in particular, locations where there has been limited resources for enforcement previously. Our aim is to double enforcement actions across North Yorkshire over the next 3 years.
Landlord Association	Supply of PRS could reduce and low income families could be priced out of area	The supply of PRS has reduced generally over the last 3-5 years, due to a range of factors, including landlords changing their properties from rented to holiday lets. This has led to reduced supply and increased rents. Whilst this remains a risk, due more to underlying market factors, the proposed area has some of the lowest rental values both within North Yorkshire as a whole and within the town of Scarborough. It is unlikely then that we should see households displaced to other areas, as a result.
Landlord Association	What support can the Council provide to landlords to improve the condition of their stock, especially improving energy efficiency	One of the key priorities with the Council’s draft Housing Strategy is to support the decarbonisation of the whole housing stock including properties in the private rented sector. The Council will provide advice and support to landlords on energy efficiency measures, including support to access all energy efficiency grants and funding that will be available to private landlords.
Landlord Association	Concerns over linking fly tipping and rubbish dumping specifically to PRS properties	It is accepted that there are challenges to identifying the perpetrators of individual fly tippers and rubbish dumpers. However, with over 50% of the households within the area being privately rented, it would be a reasonable assumption that a proportion of the rubbish dumped will be from PRS properties. With regards to fly tipping, whilst Selective Licensing won’t specifically tackle this problem, the extra resources provided by the scheme within the area, will mean that problems of fly tipping will be more regularly identified and we will be able to support other services to address fly tipping in the area. The council will also give consideration to explore options around a wider neighbourhood renewal approach within the Selective licensing area, which would complement selective licensing and bring meaningful environmental improvements to the area.