Council slammed for ignoring Covid-19 guidelines

Coventry Council has been accused of acting irresponsibly by introducing a licensing scheme for private rented housing earlier this week. 

The council pressed ahead with its plans to bring in a licensing scheme from Monday 4th May despite government guidelines which advise that the introduction of new, non-mandatory licensing schemes should be paused.

The move has been met with anger from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), which has accused the council of being “irresponsible” for going ahead with its plans.

Chris Norris, policy director for the NRLA, said: “The guidelines are there to protect tenants and landlords from unnecessary contact. Where a licensing scheme is introduced, landlords have to go into their properties to check that they meet the licensing obligation and maybe need to carry out non-essential works. This exposes them and the tenants to an enhanced risk of contagion.
 
“Several local authorities have done the right thing and paused the introduction of new licensing schemes in response to the crisis including Luton and Newcastle.”

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