The High Court in London has overturned Enfield Council's plans for additional and selective licensing schemes, which would have applied to all private rented property in the borough.
His Honour Judge McKenna said that "the implementation and operation of an unlawful designation is a continuing unlawful act". He found that Enfield Council had failed to consult the persons who should have been consulted (including in the six surrounding boroughs) and did not consult for the required time. The hearing took place on the 26th November 2014 at the Royal Courts of Justice, with judgement given on the 11th December 2014. HHJ McKenna also refused permission for Enfield Council to appeal against the decision.
The council's scheme would have required landlords to hold a £500 five-year licence from the authority for each property they owned. Non-registration by a landlord could incur a £20,000 fine alongside a criminal record, with any breach of any of the licence conditions resulting in a £5,000 fine. The scheme was set to commence in Enfield in April 2015.
The judgement was gained by Constantinos Regas who is a landlord of just one property in the borough. He brought the case against the council after repeatedly speaking against the proposals at council meetings including one on the 12th November, where he warned the council that a judge had already found that part of the scheme was "arguably unlawful" and that they should not proceed with the licensing scheme.
Mr Regas said: "I have always maintained my view that good housing standards are a human right. But Enfield Council have not gone about this the right way. They have accused tenants of being antisocial and have sought to criminalise landlords for tenants' behaviour. The Council have now been found acting unlawfully. The Council's Cabinet and senior officers have demonised tenants, defiled democracy and disgraced themselves. They threw good money after bad in defending this case, despite me putting them on notice in June that they were not acting properly. The citizens of Enfield should welcome the resignations of the entire cabinet and senior officers."
Commenting on the judgement, Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the National Landlords Association (NLA), said: “This decision exposes Enfield Council’s blasé approach to introducing licensing and their consultation process with landlords, tenants and the community. It asks serious questions about the motivation behind what seems to be a blatant attempt to introduce the scheme at all costs.
“We congratulate the hard work and perseverance of local landlord Constantinos Regas in securing this outcome."
