Rotherham Council approves new landlord crackdown despite concerns
Rotherham Council’s cabinet has approved a renewed selective licensing scheme to tackle poor housing and anti-social behaviour, despite limited public support during consultation.
The five-year scheme, approved by cabinet on 20 October, will require landlords in six areas to apply for licences costing £975 per property, meet management standards, and face higher fees if they fail to apply on time.
It will cover parts of the town centre, Eastwood, East Dene, Clifton, Masbrough, Kimberworth, Thurcroft, Dinnington, Brinsworth and Parkgate, replacing the current scheme introduced in 2020.
According to a council report, only around one in five respondents to the public consultation agreed with the proposed designations, with several landlords arguing the policy unfairly penalises compliant property owners.
During the last cabinet meeting on October 20, one landlord asked councillors to consider removing streets with no record of issues from the scheme.
Sam Barstow, assistant director for community safety, said officers had made changes following the consultation and based decisions on “an evidential basis” using data on deprivation, crime and anti-social behaviour. He added that councillors had discussed the potential for annual reviews of areas with high compliance levels.
Speaking as a member of the public, Councillor Taiba Yaseen said: “I want to focus on how the council can claim the selective licensing consultation was meaningful when 68% of residents and tenants said no to selective licensing, yet their views have been ignored. Isn’t this a betrayal of public consultation?”
In response, Councillor Linda Beresford said the consultation had been extensive, with mailouts to 16,000 residents, emails to landlords and letting agents, and engagement with more than 60 local organisations, faith groups and schools.
She added: “It’s not a popularity contest, it’s not the X Factor. We need to do what is the right thing for our residents, which is make sure that they are all living in safe, decent homes.”
The council said the scheme has led to thousands of housing hazards being removed since its introduction and has contributed to reductions in blight and nuisance behaviour.
The new licences are expected to come into force next year.