Selective Licensing for Tunstall North approved by Stoke-on-Trent City Council's Cabinet

At last, something positive as been done to improve the two area's. It is one of the many issues that Tunstall North and Pinnox street Residents associations have to make Tunstall a better place to live and i see it as a great morale booster for all concerned

does this mean my house insurance should improve? i noticed in the litle park someone had removed one of the seats on a seesaw.

“The aim of selective licensing is to help address issues of low housing demand affecting an area, and reduce the anti-social behaviour of tenants in privately rented properties.”

It’s good for morale that somebody seems to be doing something, but (sorry) I'm not convinced this will achieve anything. It’s not clear how the solution has any link to the problem. It seems to just say landlords you sort it out. Quite rightly land lords should be aware of their responsibilities, but landlords are not responsible for tenants behaviour, nor do they have the power to do anything about it. Unfortunately anti-social people have rights.

1. How can a landlord tell if a prospective tenant is a trouble maker or not? What’s a good reference, what’s a bad reference? Who’s monitoring the references to check the landlord gives a monkeys? It’s flawed.

2. If the tenant turns out to be a poor tenant, what can a landlord do that the police can't?
A landlord would need to go to court to evict, this is very difficult, needs solid legal grounds, it’s time consuming and costly. The trouble tenant is free to rent another house a few streets away. What motivation does a landlord have to evict. How is a licence that ensures gas & electrical safety going to change an existing anti-social tenant? It’s full of loop holes.

3. What happens if a landlord buys a licence but then does nothing about anti-social behaviour, or doesn’t keep the property visually decent and make sure any properties are well managed. Is there a law against this? What's the penalty?

4. Ultimately the selective licensing concept doesn’t tackle the issue. At best it just moves the problem tenant a few streets away.

5. For all this extra hassle, landlords are expected to pay £500 to get a licence!

The authorities would be better off spending the money it took to set this up and run it, on a free legal advise service to land lords to help tackle bad tenants, (and indeed tenants to tackle bad land lords). Did anybody consult with the land lords or tenants to find out what support they needed?

I for one am pleased that something is being done about this area, selective licensing can only help my neighbourhood.
Having been away from this area for a few years I was totally gutted when I came back to live and found the deterioration of Tunstall.
I can also remember when first bought my house here, I had only been in a short while when whilst watching tv early one morning they were talking about the worst areas in England to buy a home - Tunstall being one of them, I thought then what have I done, however was pleasantly surprised by how Tunstall grew on me over the years.
I feel I am one of the lucky people that have fantastic neighbours (friends)and feel safe and secure where I live.
Lets hope that the selective licensing will ensure the future of Tunstall and surrounding areas and get a community spirit going again, like I feel that this website has proved that there is one still alive and well.

In July 2011 the city council's Cabinet approved the selective licensing scheme for parts of Tunstall. Legislative requirements tell us we then have to wait for 3 months before the scheme can be implemented, so on 5 November 2011 the selective licensing scheme in Tunstall became mandatory.
All landlords received a copy of the application form in the beginning of October, and 32 chose to apply early for a licence with more applications arriving daily; which is seen as a positive thing.
Once all the available discounts applicable to landlords have expired, those landlords who have not applied will be contacted for an explanation.
Any landlord who does not apply for a licence, or does not have a valid explanation as to why they have not applied will be prosecuted by the city council.

Thanks for the update Ruth.

The Sentinel were trying to paint a different picture. I suppose they rushed the story out in last weeks paper with out waiting for the facts. I suppose you can't reveil this, but the houses with the "problem" tenants, have all of their landlords signed up?

Does this also mean that the North Staffordshire Landlords Association is coming on board a bit more?

Although looking at their objectives #5 you would think they'd welcome this, as the landlords are partially to blame for the state the area has fallen to over the past decade by not properly vetting their tenants or listening to local concerns.

The Objectives of the Association

1. To provide a forum for consideration of matters relating to the letting of private properties and to promote a professional standard of practice and conduct by all its members for the benefit of the private rented sector as a whole. 
2. To present the general views of private landlords to local authorities, national authorities, parliament and any other body which has jurisdiction over or an interest in the letting of private properties. 
3. To consider any matters which affect private landlords in general and to promote such actions that will benefit the members and safeguard their interests consistent with the maintenance of professional standards of conduct. 
4. To facilitate mutual advice and assistance to members in connection with matters relating to the letting of properties.
5. To promote the professional standing of the Association within the private rented sector. 
6. To represent equally all landlords both large and small.