Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered

c)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 20^th November 2019.

Moved by Councillor Tom Munro and seconded by Councillor Tricia Clough           

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of a Growth Scrutiny Committee held on 20^th November 2019 be approved as a true and correct record.

(Members should contact the officer whose name appears on the List of Key Decisions for any further information).  NB: If Members wish to discuss an exempt report under this item, the meeting will need to move into exempt business and exclude the public in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and Local Government Act 1972, Part 1, Schedule 12a for that part of the meeting only.

Moved by Councillor Tom Munro and seconded by Councillor David Dixon

RESOLVED that the List of Key Decisions and Items to be considered in private document be noted.

The Joint Housing Strategy & Growth Manager provided an explanation of the Council’s role and responsibilities with regard to private rented sector housing in Bolsover District.

The private rented sector across the District was predominantly non-professional, i.e., there were a lot of landlords that owned a small number of properties.  A lot of these landlords were ‘accidental landlords’, for example, an inherited property where a relative had died, or couples where one had moved into the other’s property and rented out the existing property.  In some cases, if the property was not the sole source of income for the owner, it didn’t always get the owners full attention.  Likewise, a large number of private landlords lived far away from their properties and this could also be challenging for the Council. 

These challenges, however, provided opportunity for the Council to work closely with landlords in a coordinated approach.  The Council held landlord forums each year and the Joint Empty Properties Officer, officers from Environmental Health, the Homeless Service, Call B4 You Serve and DASH (Decent and Safer Homes) attended to provide landlords and management agencies with updates on legislative issues, make referrals and to encourage landlords to register with DASH as an accredited landlord.  (‘Call B4 You Serve’, was a free of charge specialist service for landlords who were having difficulties with their tenancies and were considering serving notice on a tenant - officers could act as mediator between the tenant and the landlord to try and keep the tenant in the property).

It was confirmed that the Council did not hold data on how many private and professional landlords there were in the District.  However, the Council did hold record of empty properties in the District and many of these were owned by private landlords.

A Member noted that there was a requirement in Scotland for all private landlords to be registered and she felt that the Council should consider introducing something similar for the District.  The Joint Housing Strategy & Growth Manager explained that there was no requirement in England for landlords to be registered, though, the 2004 Housing Act did give local authorities the right to impose a licensing system on private landlords in England within their boundaries known as ‘selective licensing’.  The administration system for this was onerous for councils and did not necessarily provide the outcomes desired.  The Environmental Health Manager agreed with this and explained that selective licensing was for areas considered particularly problematic and this was more likely to relate to city council areas. 

In response to Members’ queries, the Joint Housing Strategy & Growth Manager explained that Environmental Health had powers to take action on private landlords where tenants were not living in satisfactory conditions.  The Homeless Service made the Council aware of landlords who were acting inappropriately and could challenge an eviction notice on a private tenant’s behalf.  The Council worked closely with the Law Centre and could provide a private tenant’s case for them.  A check could be carried out as deposits/bonds paid  ...  view the full minutes text for item 578.

Committee considered their work programme 2019/20.