Councillor warns rising licence costs in one of the country’s most deprived areas are forcing smaller landlords to consider quitting.
10th Feb 20260 573 1 minute read Simon Cairnes
Blackpool’s landlords are warning that a new licensing scheme could lead to their “financial ruin”, with many considering selling up as mounting costs hit already fragile businesses.
The council’s new selective licensing scheme covers around 11,000 private rented homes in Bloomfield, Brunswick, Claremont, Talbot, Tyldesley, Warbreck, Waterloo and Victoria.
It says the scheme is intended to raise standards, tackle anti-social behaviour and address poor management and safety risks in neighbourhoods with long-standing housing problems.
financial burdenCritics, though, argue that the financial burden of it will fall hardest on smaller operators. Speaking at a recent Council meeting, Cllr Emma Ellison (main picture) said: “Since we had a review on the selective licence scheme a few months ago, I’ve been contacted by quite a few landlords across the town.”
She added that they are “often viewed as having plenty of money and being terrible landlords, but that’s not the case, and there are plenty of landlords doing a really good job and really looking after the tenants.”
A lot of these landlords report that they are thinking of selling up the properties because there isn’t any way they can pay these massive fees.”
“A lot of these landlords report that they are thinking of selling up the properties because there isn’t any way they can pay these massive fees. They could end up putting these fees onto the tenants, which was said wouldn’t happen.”
Councillor Paula Burdess, Cabinet Member, Blackpool Council
A standard licence costs £772 per property for the five-year scheme, with discounts available. However, the fee must effectively be paid within the first year, even though the licence runs for five years, which Ellison said is creating financial pressure for landlords, particularly in areas where homes are due to be demolished long before the scheme ends.
Cabinet Member Cllr Paula Burdess defended the structure but said the authority would show flexibility in genuine hardship cases. She told Lancs Live: “Where there is genuine hardship, we will work with landlords to work out payment schemes.”
TagsSelective Licensing scheme 10th Feb 20260 573 1 minute read Simon Cairnes Share Facebook X LinkedIn Share via Email