SWEENEY V LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL. FIRST TIER TRIBUNAL MANCHESTER CASE REF MAN/OOBY/HML/2016/0005.
The tribunal has released its decision dated 22/6/2017. There were a number of arguments advanced in the above case, and while Liverpool technically could appeal , the tribunal has ruled that the Council must amend all its landlord licences. The Local authority expended huge resources arguing the point including employing senior Counsel from a top London chamber.
Had the Council listened to me initially, Tax payers money could have been saved, and we would not have had to get independent determination.
The Liverpool condition stated that ” any letters relating to anti- social behaviour sent or received by the licence holder must be retained by the licence holder and made available to the authority within 7 days on demand”
I argued that this was totally unreasonable, and where a landlord received information in confidence, it would not be correct to divulge this information to the Council. Furthermore I was not happy with Council procedures for protecting Witnesses as they fall short of Procedures employed by Police forces.
The Tribunal concurred and all Licences issued by Liverpool must now be amended and the following clause added: “the licence holder shall not thereby be required to disclose to the authority any information which the licence holder reasonably believes to have been provided to him in confidence by a third party”.
All local authorities should now review their conditions.
It should be remembered that Liverpool previously had inserted another illegal condition in their scheme which contravened the De regulation act. Liverpool city Council were also taken to task following an ICO investigation which ruled their application form for landlord licences illegal.
What an utter fiasco. Time and again the largest licensing scheme in the Country has been found wanting.
Liverpool city Council simply cannot get it right. Two and a half years in to a scheme, where licences still have not been issued and those that have been issued, must again be amended.
A tale of greed and sheer incompetence.
