A GROUP of landlords is posed to take a council to court after a selective licensing scheme was introduced.

Hyndburn Landlords say they are unhappy with ‘costly’ conditions imposed as part of the scheme which covers around 4,850 properties in Accrington and Church, including more than 1,500 privately rented properties.

They say they are looking at bringing their issues to a tribunal, 18 months after trying to quash the entire scheme in the High Court.

Paul Brown of the landlords group said they would be challenging which aspects of the scheme are legally enforceable.

They are unhappy about some of the conditions, the £820 fee for a five-year licence. They intend to take their fight to a property tribunal.

He said: “We feel the council is trying to use this as a fix all to cure all of society's problems.

“One of the conditions is to provide an electrical safety installation check certificate. The conditions add a lot of cost on to the landlord and a responsible landlord will know the safety of their property anyway.

“They are using Housing Act legislation to enforce these conditions, but we don’t think this is correct.

He said they had questioned the council about these things but not received answers.

The scheme aims to improve the standard of rented properties and all landlords in the areas covered will have to apply for a licence. Any landlord caught without a licence could face a fine of up to £20,000.

Deputy council leader Clare Pritchard said she ‘stood by’ the scheme. She said: “I think the scheme is something that will benefit everyone, including landlords. We’re also implementing schemes to address problems landlords experience. It’s not about hitting landlords, it’s about improving the way the system works for everybody.”