The majority of landlords with rental properties in the London Borough of Waltham Forest must now obtain a property licence in order to continue to let their property lawfully.

It comes as a new five year selective licensing scheme was introduced in the Borough on 1st May, covering 18 out of 20 wards. Only the wards of Hatch Lane and Endlebury are excluded.

As with all property licensing schemes that cover more than 20% of the borough, before the plans could go be implemented they needed the backing of the government-something that was granted in Waltham Forest earlier this year.

The scheme has now been introduced, despite government guidance for local authorities stating that during the current Covid-19 lockdown, plans to introduce new non-mandatory licensing schemes should be paused at this time.

Early-bird discount of £250 on licences

Applications for selective licences made from 1st May to 31st October 2020 are eligible for an ‘early bird’ discount of £250 against the full fee of £700. The licence fee is split into two parts – only the fee covering the up-front processing costs is payable when the application is made. This enables the landlord to spread the cost of the fee over several months. A further discount of £100 is available for certain multiple properties.

Blog Post from Residential Landlords Association

See details of our Guaranteed Rent Scheme here