A COMPULSORY licensing scheme being introduced by Oxford City Council, affecting thousands of landlords and tenants, could be illegal.
A legal challenge is to be made against new licensing powers adopted by the city council to control houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).
Oxford has one of the highest number of HMOs in the country — about 5,000 — and the city was set to become the first place to adopt new licensing powers, aimed at improving the standard of accommodation.
But a group of landlords and letting agencies in the city is seeking a judicial review.
David Smith, of legal firm Pain & Smith, which is acting for the Oxford landlords, said: “The scheme, if carried forward as currently planned, would leave many landlords with their properties designated as HMOs, but because Oxford intends to ‘phase’ licence applications over three to four years these landlords would not be able to apply for a licence. This would, as a consequence, place these landlords in breach of the law.”
A spokesman for Oxford City Council said that the council had received “queries” about the licensing scheme and would be releasing a statement tomorrow.
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