The Director of Planning and Regulatory Services has submitted a report updating the report for the Selective Licensing Implementation for year 2.

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, David Butler, Director of Planning and Regulatory Services and Courtney Bennett, Regulatory Services Manager will present the report and ask any questions.

The Panel is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, and Courtney Bennett, Regulatory Services Manager were in attendance to present the report and answer questions.

Councillor Rawle asked about the inspection targets for year 3 and 4 of the scheme and how it could grow. The Regulatory Services Manager responded that, over a 5-year period, 60% of properties would be inspected, with a target of 400 inspections by the end of the scheme, focusing particularly on priority 1 properties.

Councillor Rawle also questioned the priority list for housing inspections and the progress of the tenant union meetings. The Regulatory Services Manager clarified that houses ranked 5 would not be reviewed, and inspections would focus on properties with a high likelihood of issues. She added that tenant campaigns, set for year 3 (the current year), would be launched next month, and efforts were being made to reach out to other groups.

Councillor Diggins asked if there had been an increase in reports that led to inspections. The Regulatory Services Manager responded that while this data wasn’t included in the report, it could be reviewed for Councillors outside of the meeting.

Councillor Rawle inquired about a realistic timeframe for clearing the backlog, specifically asking if 16 week was a reasonable target. The Regulatory Services Manager confirmed that 16 weeks would help clear the backlog and said she would verify and follow up on this. Councillor Smith added that, since the scheme was only authorised for 5 years, they had already started considering applying for a renewal. She mentioned that they were lobbying the government to extend the duration of the licensing scheme.

Councillor Rawle raised concerns about managing capacity for the second round and asked about the lobbying efforts currently underway. She wanted to know when to focus on the capacity needed to handle the next round of administrative work for scheme renewal and how this may impact the current enforcement efforts. The Regulatory Services Manager explained that the application team, which handles renewals, was separate from the inspection team, so inspections wouldn’t be affected. The application team had a flexible staffing structure that could be adjusted as needed. Regarding the scheme’s length, the Manager noted that the Renters’ Right bill, currently going through Parliament, included provisions that could benefit enforcement, local authorities, tenants and citizens.

Councillor Mundy asked if there were any preferred landlords or if it was too early to tell. He also asked if the scheme was expected to have a positive impact on reducing the number of people needing to use the housing register, and how progress would be tracked. Councillor Smith responded that there were no preferred landlords, as the standard was a 5-year license unless a landlord failed to meet the required thresholds. Councillor Mundy further asked how many landlords were on a reduce timescale license due to concerns. The Regulatory Services Manager stated that she didn’t have the exact data but could obtain it. The Housing Strategy and Needs Manager added that he wasn’t sure either but would check if there had been an increase in the number of people on the housing register due to landlords with higher bans.

Councillor Diggins raised a point about landlord intervention, asking how follow-ups were managed to ensure landlords were taking the necessary actions. The Regulatory Services Manager explained that follow-up actions were part of the enforcement process and guided by corporate enforcement policies. While there might be times where hazard awareness needs to be addressed, the primary goal was to ensure action was taken, whether through improvement notices or schedule of works.

The Panel agreed to make the following recommendation:

1.    Compile data from proactive visits to look at the condition of the private housing stock in Oxford.

2.    Prioritise the media campaign, track tenant engagement and review the success of the campaign.

The Regulatory Services Manager left the meeting.