I have a good tenant for over a year in an area with ‘Selective Licensing’, being a luxury city-centre studio apartment. The licensing incurs quite a lot of bureaucratic admin, training, fees etc but so be it.
However I have now got a ‘compliance visit’ requested, and they need to talk to the tenant in person at the property alone (!). However he is not responding to their calls/emails on this topic, nor to mine, encouraging him to respond, explaining why.
I have asked the council what I should do but no sensible answer is forthcoming, just a threat of ‘escalation’.
Given he’s a PhD scientific researcher he really should understand, I am always polite and responsive to him, but he does not reciprocate. What to do?
You are not your tenant’s keeper and provided you have evidence that you’ve passed on the Council’s demand and encouraged the tenant to comply, the Council would not be able to take action against you. If they threaten you, you should immediately speak to a solicitor or the Local Government Ombudsman.
Tell council that you tried and get them write tenant directly. You do not need to pass details as address is known (I.e. no data breach necessary). They can address letter as current occupier etc. let them take it on.
The tenant has the right not to speak to them if he doesnt want to. There are to many busy bodys at councils who sit in ivory towers lauding themselves over people who have worked hard to get were they are
Respond to the council and ensure you do so in writing!
Say you have done everything in your power to comply but the law does not allow you to compel the tenant to admit you or them for such a visit.
Ask them clearly in writing what else you need to do (within the bounds of the law) to ensure you are complying fully and to avoid their threat of escalation and make clear you wil take any legal action.
If you wish to make a point you may need to suggest that, as a licensing authority, they should ensure their staff receive better training so they are aware of tenants rights in these matters, both so they can properly defend the rights of tenants but also so they can justify the license fees they charge you for their expertise and knowledge.
Many thanks to everyone for the responses. I am awaiting the followup from the council - of course they actually subcontract this task so I was contacted by a 3rd party agent. I now recognise that I should do things in writing and copy both the other parties - assuming that they follow up. It’s all so silly… the term ‘make-work’ springs to mind i.e. just doing things for the sake of it, solving problems that just don’t exist and wasting a lot of time! Again, thanks for the advice.
Its worth noting that the Renters Rights Bill proposes to give Councils sweeping new powers of entry whether the tenant agrees or not. I guess officials will take police back-up with them in some cases.
OK. The funny thing here is that it is a ‘selective licencing compliance check’ - they apparently want to interview the tenant in private at the apartment (I need to leave) and quiz him about fire drills, smoke detector tests, trip hazards… and be sure he knows everything and gives the right answers. Apparently. I asked. The tenant being a PhD scientist and a grown-up. No complaints at all from him or his predecessor, or anyone. I asked ‘so should I barricade him into the apartment so you can grill him?’ -joking of course - and the answer was ‘that won’t be necessary’. I’ll wait and see what the next steps in this comic soap opera may be, and meanwhile keep records. Thanks for the help, folks!
The problem with Council officials is that they seem unable to differentiate between HMO licensing which has a very stringent set of requirements and Selective Licensing which is for non-HMO properties and has far fewer enforceable requirements. As far as I know, fire drills have never been part of the SL requirements and if the officer says theyre required, I would challenge it.