A veteran landlord in Portsmouth has launched a petition calling on the government to scale back what he describes as “insidious” licensing powers being exploited by local councils to impose unfair conditions on landlords. Simon Fletcher, a committee member of the Portsmouth & District Private Landlords Association, is urging fellow landlords to rally behind his call to repeal a controversial 2015 order that broadened the criteria for selective licensing schemes.
Fletcher argues that this expansion—enacted without full parliamentary scrutiny—has opened the floodgates for councils to apply selective licensing inappropriately, disrupting rental markets and undermining property investment. “It’s scandalous that most of these schemes are justified on criteria defined through secondary legislation lacking any parliamentary scrutiny,” he told LandlordZONE.
His online petition, which he hopes will gain at least 10,000 signatures to force a government response, is the latest move in what many landlords see as an ongoing battle against regulatory creep.
Licensing conditions stretch beyond legal intent, Fletcher warns
The root of Fletcher’s campaign is the 2015 General Approval Order, which allowed councils to use four additional criteria—on top of the original two set out in the Housing Act 2004—to justify the implementation of selective licensing. These include poor property conditions, high levels of inward migration, high crime, and deprivation.
One particularly contentious clause allows councils to claim the right to carry out Health and Housing Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspections on a large number of properties without prior reports of concern. “Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 doesn’t give councils blanket powers of entry,” says Fletcher. “They can only enter where it is necessary, which means having a legitimate cause—such as a complaint or visible disrepair. This is not the same as what’s permitted with HMOs.”
He adds, “Some councils appear to be over-interpreting what powers are construed through the 2015 Order and acting as if the Secretary of State unilaterally re-defined Part 3 of the Act, granting them additional powers of entry that ignore tenants’ rights.”
Sign the petition here: Revoke The Selective Licensing of Houses (Additional Conditions) Order 2015
