This petition has been doing the rounds. It raises a fair question that is worthy of debate, particularly in cases where criminal tenants are deliberately choosing to not pay rent. Not because there is hardship. But because they know there is no criminal consequence. That sounds like fraud. It sounds like theft. So why is it not treated like it? Here's the petition for those who want to support it.
Just are reminder that Wandsworth Council's new scheme went live on 1 April 2026 so if you have not applied for a licence you are at risk of a fine and Rent Repayment Order. The council is still running the early bird discount at the moment. One of the misunderstandings is that licensing only applies to HMOs.
The selective licensing scheme extends licensing to all private rented accommodation occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers in three council wards.
The three council wards covered by the new selective licensing designation are:
Remember, that the potential cost can escalate very fast (see article below) so if you are in these wards don't spend time thinking about this. You need a licence and it might cost you thousands if you wait.
https://landlordlab.co.uk/insights/wandsworth-selective-licence-cost-of-delay
I live in a rented apartment in a building in Manchester England.
In the building there are now TWO smoke detectors that have no batteries, and are therefore chirping up to 3 times a minute, 24 hours a day
When I have my window open I can hear both clearly, but can also hear them when my window is closed
Problem is my building is square with a courtyard in the middle, so I have no idea where the chirping is coming. My keys only access my side of the square so I cannot explore to try figure out where abouts the alarms are sounding
I’ve reported this to the building managers and had no response. What more can I do? Should I contact my letting agents, even though they only own my apartment and not the whole building so I doubt they would be able to do much? Or carry on pestering the building managers?
According to an article from Simply Business empty properties are a growing concern for UK landlords. Recent data shows that the cost of void periods between tenancies has climbed by 12.9% over the last year, with the average void period in England now standing at 24 days.
The cost underlines the importance of tenant selection, proper referencing and managing tenants properly so they want to stay.