Proposed Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme stigmatises the poor and could lead to evictions

The Brent Council Executive on August 26th will be asked to approve a Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme in the private rented sector LINK  covering Harlesden, Wembley Central and Willesden Green wards. The charge to landlords will be £350 for the 5 year licensing period.

Here Scott Bartle of Brent Green Party gives a personal view on the proposals:

I thoroughly disagree with Brent Council’s proposed  Selective Landlord Licensing  Scheme. The basic premise is that selective licensing will reduce anti-social behaviour as opposed to the version Brighton and Hove Council LINK wishes to introduce which suggests that selective licensing will help tenants with rogue landlords.

Brent Council state that selective licensing will affect people from the lowest socio-economic demographics living in the lowest cost accommodation.

They are therefore in effect disparaging an entire group of people as trouble makers and are stigmatising people. 

In Reference Section 7 (pg 55) of the responses they acknowledge that the examples they used as 'anti-social behaviour' are covered by existing laws and that selective licensing will not have any impact.

In Reference Section 9 (page 56) it states that:

The council full accepts that tenants rather than landlords are responsible for anti-social behaviour.

References 7 & 9 clearly go against the core premise for introduction of this scheme. In Reference Section 15 the council acknowledges that due to austerity they have resource constraints and will have difficulty implementing the policy.

After reading the rest of the responses I'm convinced that this is part of the gentrification / social cleansing agenda and also a way to get money from people that will not be subject to the garden tax. They even state on the Equalities Impact section (pg117) that landlords could choose to withdraw from the sector leading to evictions with the risk  particularly pronounced for the people that this policy is specifically targeting

Housing groups call urgent meeting with Brent councilors and Brent Community Housing

Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group, Brent Housing Action, Housing 4 All, London Radical Housing Network, Residents of South Kilburn and Barham Park Estates and Unite Community have  jointly convened a meeting about housing in Brent.

They have invited Kilburn councillor Rita Conneely and lead member for Regeneration and Housing Cllr Margaret McLellan to the meeting along with Brent Community Housing staff.

A particular focus will be recent developments on the South Kilburn and Barham Park estates.

The meeting will take place between 11am and 1pm at CASA LATINA, PRIORY HOUSE, 10 KINGSGATE PLACE, NW6 4TA on Wednesday 13th August.

BACKGROUND

Barham Park LINK

South Kilburn  LINK

How should the community respond to 'Operation Skybreaker'? Brent Against Racism meeting tomorrow

Notice from Brent Against Racism Campaign (BARC)

Brent is one of 5 London boroughs currently being targeted in a new Home Office immigration operation, called Operation Skybreaker. This operation will see aggressive and heavy-handed raids on homes and businesses aimed at driving migrants out of the country. It is likely to result in racial profiling (i.e., stopping anyone who looks like they might be a migrant) and a number of “fishing raids” (random raids not based on specific intelligence).

Brent Anti-Racism Campaign will host a meeting with guests from RAMFEL (Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London) and the Anti Raids Network to discuss the community response to this. 

Please join us on Wednesday 13 August, 7pm at Brent Trades Hall (Apollo Club), 375 High Road, London NW10 2JR (next to Willesden bus garage, 5 mins from Dollis Hill tube)

More info from brentantiracismcampaign@gmail.com or info@ramfel.org.uk. Facebook: Brent Anti Racism Campaign Twitter: @BrentAntiRacism

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