In brief: Duration of landlord’s licence after a licensing conviction (London Borough of Waltham Forest v David Reid)

Article summary

Local Government analysis: Adam Heppinstall, barrister at Henderson Chambers, considers the case of LB Waltham Forest v Reid. The Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal (UT) continues to sketch out, in what is becoming a series of appeals, the issues which a local authority can consider in determining the length of a landlord’s licence under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004. In this case, the UT decided that having a policy which limited the duration of a licence to one year to allow a conviction and fine for failing to have a licence to become spent was not a reasonable policy given that the applicant landlord had been found to be a fit and proper person to hold a licence. The First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) had extended the one-year licence granted by Waltham Forest (because by then the appellant’s conviction for failing to have a licence would be spent) to 2020 and the...