Landlords in Liverpool are now required to sign up to the licensing scheme in the city, with the scheme going live on the 1 April 2015.

The mandatory initiative requires all landlords in the city to have a five year licence for each of their rented properties and Liverpool is the first major city to introduce a city-wide ‘selective licensing’ scheme, with 50,000 properties to be covered.

The licence fee will cost £400 per property and landlords with more than one property will pay £350 for each additional home. Members of an accredited or co-regulation scheme approved by the council such as CLASS will pay £200 per property.

Cllr Ann O’Byrne, Liverpool City Council’s Assistant Mayor and Cabinet member for housing, said: “This scheme is about giving tenants some expectation of their rights, and the city council the power to tackle breaches.

“Liverpool has a growing number of privately rented properties and the sector is vital in meeting the city’s housing needs, so it is important that what is on offer is of high quality.

“Although many landlords operate professionally, we are concerned about a number of landlords who rent properties which fail to meet satisfactory standards of tenancy and property management. “

Landlords will have to meet a variety of conditions relating to fire, electric and gas safety; rectifying disrepair issues; tackling pest infestations; keeping the exterior in a good state of repair and dealing with complaints about anti-social behaviour caused by tenants.

O’Byrne said: “Poorly managed properties also lead to problems such as anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, and are a blight on the city’s neighbourhoods.

“Responsible landlords who provide quality accommodation for tenants have absolutely nothing to fear and that is why we have put in place substantial discounts for those who are already members of accredited schemes, which in some cases means it will cost around 75 pence per property per week.

“There are also discounts for those with multiple properties, and of course all of the costs are tax deductible. We are also giving them until the end of the year to pay the total amount.”

Applications can be made at www.liverpool.gov.uk/landlordlicensing