News & Insights

In a decision of great significance to residential landlords, the Court of Appeal has given guidance about the scope of local authority powers in relation to the licence conditions that may be included within licences of houses in areas of selective licensing under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004.  Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 permits local authorities to designate their areas, or parts of them, as areas of selective licensing if they are satisfied that certain criteria are met.  In an area of selective licensing, private houses let as separate homes must be licensed and the authority may include in a licence “…such conditions as [they] consider appropriate for regulating the management, use or occupation of the house concerned”.

In Brown v Hyndburn Borough Council [2018] WLR(D) 115, the local authority had included two licence conditions in all their Part 3 licences requiring private landlords to install carbon monoxide detectors and to ensure that their premises were covered by a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report.

One affected landlord’s properties all complied with these particular conditions but his concern at the principle of an authority, by means of licence conditions, seeking to require landlords to upgrade or improve their properties and/or to provide completely new equipment and facilities, prompted him to commence proceedings to challenge the authority by way of an appeal against both conditions.  The First-tier Tribunal agreed with him that the council had no power to include either condition.  On the authority’s appeal, the Upper Tribunal disagreed and reinserted both conditions into the licence.  The landlord then appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal upheld the landlord’s appeal.  The conditions went beyond regulating the management, use or occupation of relevant premises, and the Housing Act 2004 did not empower councils either to require upgrading of private rented properties or to dictate the facilities and equipment that should be available within them.

For further advice or information please contact one of our Dispute Resolution experts.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.