The second scheme of selective licensing started on 1 December 2023, with over 9,631 licences received to date. The team licences family and singly occupied houses and flats and checks landlords are providing safe properties and complying with the conditions on their licence.
The HMO licensing team licence houses in multiple occupation (HMO's). There are two licences:
Additional Licensing requires houses shared by 3 or more people (forming 2 or more households) who share or lack a WC, cooking or personal hygiene facilities.
Mandatory licensing requires houses shared by 5 or more people, forming 2 or more households, who share or lack a WC, cooking or personal hygiene facilities.
Here is a snapshot of the work done by the Selective Licensing, Additional and Mandatory licensing teams up to May 2024.
 
We inspected a property recently and found 16 defects or safety issues, including broken windows, rotting doors, dangerous plug sockets and unsafe stairs.
We also found internal and external damp and mould, broken heaters with no fixed heating and water flushing onto the bathroom floor.
It is a landlord’s responsibility and the conditions of the licence to make sure the home they rent out to tenants is safe and up to living standards. The below photos show some of the issues we found. We are working with the licence holder for them to fix these issues.
Landlords and managing agents play a vital role in making sure waste issues are identified and dealt with quickly.
Since February 2022, Nottingham City Council revised and updated the licence conditions for HMO (part 2 licence) and Selective (part 3 licence). Most changes were relatively minor, but there is one significant change, and this is the requirement for a written Waste Management Plan.
These conditions will mostly apply to new licences, and they will not be applied retrospectively, unless we see major issues at some properties. Then we would propose these new conditions to the usual licence variation process.
A Waste Management Plan will set out how you will manage waste at your property during your time as a licence holder.
It will look at potential sources of waste, the likely volumes of waste and set out solutions for the management of waste. This may include solutions for rubbish or recycling, options for reducing the amount of waste produced, redirecting waste away from landfill and detailed plans for the practical storage and removal of waste at the premises.
A Waste Management Plan will help you and your tenants manage rubbish, look after the environment, keep the neighbourhood clear of property waste and help protect those who come into contact with it.
This plan will help you to manage the waste in an efficient, effective, and safe.
You can find an example of a Waste Management Plan here.
The second scheme of Selective Licensing started on 01 December 2023 and we’ve received over 9,700 individual licence applications.
Has your licence expired, but you haven’t applied yet? We’ve been told some landlords are expecting a reminder, but you may not receive one. To check if your licence has expired, check the licence you received – an example is below.
If your licence has expired, you need to apply now on this link - Selective Licensing - Nottingham City Council
Is your property in the new designation (boundary)? The designation is different, so check the designation here - Nottingham City Council - MyProperty
If your licence has not expired yet, then you do not need to apply until it does, but you can apply early.
All property agents and professionals that carry out estate, lettings and property management work have a legal responsibility to join an authorised redress scheme.
The purpose of these schemes is to deal with complaints made by tenants and landlords about agents. Essentially these are Ombudsman Schemes.
This gives both landlords and tenants the right to independent redress if their agent cannot resolve a complaint to their satisfaction. This means that anyone who feels they aren’t getting the correct service from their letting agent will be able to take their complaint to a redress scheme.
In England, a letting agent or property management agent who does not join an approved consumer redress scheme can be fined up to £5,000 by the council and ultimately be closed down, if they continue to operate illegally.
Not sure what you are required to do by law?
This Government guidance will help you understand redress schemes and what you legally have to do.
There is also this super easy to understand guidance from National Trading Standards here.
Tenants and landlords can also check agents’ registration for redress and Client Money Protection with the National Trading Standards here.
Students are now breaking up for summer and we want to thank all the landlords who have worked hard this year to maintain good property standards and provide safe homes for residents, as well as contributing to cleaner and safer communities.
We have been working with both universities to educate and advise students on waste management, including how to make sure extra waste is either recycled or disposed of responsibly. Our teams have been out conducting proactive work with both universities around waste issues identified in high-density HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation) areas, engaging and educating occupiers of HMO’s.
Students are now ending their tenancies soon, so we’ve pulled together some tips to help keep your property safe & ensure a smooth change of tenancy
Plan for waste and how you will manage this.
- With tenants vacating properties for the summer, you should reinforce that bins need to be correctly filled and put out and brought back in on the right days.
- . You may want to conduct external waste audits at your property, to ensure there is no excess waste that has not been properly disposed of by your tenants.
- Please check your licence conditions for your responsibilities in dealing with rubbish left by your tenants, remember to keep a record of your visit and any remedial actions taken to satisfy your licence condition.
- This may be a good opportunity for you to arrange a property inspection with them or to do some routine maintenance, remember you need to give 24hrs notice to your tenants even if they are planning to be away - Remember that you are required to carry out a property inspection at least every six months.
- You may also want to check the house is secured when the tenants move out and the doors are locked and the windows closed and locked with the keys removed.
Check the power will be left on to power the fire alarms, it’s also a good time for you to inspect and test your alarms.
Read more tips here.
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