News
Enfield selective licensing scheme came into force on 1 September 2021
Enfield Council’s new selective licensing scheme designed to make private renting fairer, and protect renters’ rights by improving housing conditions, tackling factors that make deprivation worse and addressing anti-social behaviour came into force on 1 September 2021.
The selective licensing scheme covers an estimated 23,000 properties that are privately rented to a single family or two unrelated people across 14 wards in the borough.
The Selective Licensing Scheme covers Bowes, Edmonton Green, Enfield Highway, Enfield Lock, Haselbury, Jubilee, Lower Edmonton, Palmers Green, Ponders End, Southbury, Southgate Green, Turkey Street, Upper Edmonton and Chase Wards.
The application fee for a five-year selective licence is £600.
The selective licensing scheme is in addition to the borough wide additional licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) which was introduced on 1 September 2020.
Under that scheme, most HMOs occupied by three or more people need to be licensed. According to the council, they have started issuing civil penalties and prosecuting landlords who have not yet licensed their properties under the additional licensing scheme.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Licensing and Regulatory Services, Cllr George Savva, said:
“The Council is committed to reducing inequality and building a fairer Enfield for all, and that means we will do everything we can to prevent criminal landlords taking advantage of people’s desperate need for a home.
“This licensing scheme will help protect private renters to ensure they live in safe and secure homes and whilst many private landlords and agents manage their properties well and provide a good service to their tenants, the conditions being experienced by some private renters, often properties occupied by some of the most vulnerable private tenants for whom housing options are limited. For those responsible landlords in the borough, schemes like this help to level the playing field.
“The Selective Licensing Scheme has been introduced in areas where evidence shows there is a large number of rented properties that have poor property conditions and standards, high level of deprivation and a significant and persistent problem caused by anti-social behaviour.
“Licensing will drive up housing standards in a growing private rented sector and help both tenants and landlords manage rented properties to a higher standard.“
A free guide containing more detailed information about property licensing and HMO planning rules in the London Borough of Enfield is available here.
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