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   Salford Landlord faces bill to repay £6,000 in rentA Salford landlord prosecuted for failing to get a licence for a property he rented has been ordered to pay back more than £6,000 of taxpayers' money. It is the first action of its kind taken by the city council and comes at the same time that three other landlords have been fined for not having the licences they require. Adrian Petticrew of Lentworth Drive in Worsley pleaded guilty at Salford Magistrates in July for not signing up to the city council's Selective Licensing Scheme, which operates in Seedley and Langworthy Regeneration area. He now faces a bill of £6,256.15 to repay the rent money he took in the form of Local Housing Allowance over a 12 month period for the house he let without a licence on Highfield Road, Langworthy. The city council put an application in to the Residential Property Tribunal to claim the money back that Petticrew was not licensed to take. The application was granted in the form of a rent repayment order which is the first to be issued in Salford. It gives the city council the power to reclaim Local Housing Allowance (LHA) payments from unlicensed landlords. Meanwhile, in separate cases three other landlords have been fined a total of £2,000 for renting out properties without the licences. Andrew Bevan was found guilty, of failing to obtain a Selective Licence in relation to a property at Kara Street. He was fined £1,000, plus £279.09 costs and £15 victim surcharge. And Peter Stockton and Malcolm Whittle both admitted to failing to obtain a Selective Licence for their joint property at Langworthy Road. They were each fined £500, plus costs of £195 and £15 victim surcharge. The Selective Licensing Scheme was introduced by Salford City Council in May 2007 to secure improved standards of property management and to tackle problems of low demand and antisocial behaviour. It currently covers the areas of the Langworthy and Seedley Regeneration area and certain areas of Broughton. Licences are granted only if landlords provide information about their management arrangements and pass a "fit and proper" person test. At the hearing for Petticrew in July the court was told that the council sent him a licence application form and issued several reminders to which he did not reply. He later claimed he could not afford a licence whilst investing in improvements to the property. In court he said he disagreed with the scheme and thought it was "another tax" but now realised it was a legal requirement. He has since successfully applied for a licence to rent property. Councillor Peter Connor, lead member for housing, said: "Our licensing scheme offers support for both landlords and tenants and helps to raise standards in the private sector. "In one case, it was taxpayers' money that was being paid to an unlicensed landlord and we have a duty to get this back on behalf of our residents. "Rent repayment orders enable us to do this and we will continue to use these powers where necessary to challenge unlicensed landlords who choose to ignore our regulations. "The other cases show that we will act on behalf of the city's tenants and will pursue landlords who don't play by the rules." Source: 24Dash.com
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