New scheme will cost taxpayers nothing

Council city leaders have promised that the taxpayer will not be hit, when a compulsory licensing scheme for landlords throughout Oxford is brought in. The Council leaders have made the guarantee at the same time John Denham, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, made a visit to the city to find out exactly how the new scheme would work.

A week ago Oxford council said yes for the plan to adopt the new powers to create the scheme, which will apply throughout the city to all HMO’s (houses of multiple occupation), apart from some self contained flats. Oxford has one of the highest numbers of houses of multiple occupations in England, with a total of more than 5,000. For some years now, families have been complaining about the number of houses being converted into student accommodation.

Joe McManners, the council’s executive member for housing, said “Council officers would ensure the scheme, which could cost £591,931 a year to run, would be self-financing. We have built in a 20 per cent margin in case there is a drop-off, and I think it is still feasible. I’m confident this scheme will still go ahead. Making sure the licensing scheme works well is a top priority for the city council.”

A recent report to the executive board of Oxford council, warned the leaders that one of the main risks of the scheme would be insufficient income because of an over-estimation of the number of houses of multiple occupations in the city. Another problem according to the report was the reluctance of some landlords to licence the properties. However no landlord can dispute the fact that having landlord insurance is vital.

Mr Denham joined Joe McManners near the University to talk about how the students in particular may benefit from any changes saying “My son Ed, who is 20, has just moved into student accommodation in Nottingham, and no parent wants to think of their children living in unsafe student digs. The council should be congratulated for getting a comprehensive licensing scheme up and running.”

The scheme if approved will come into force on October 25.