Durham County Council held a consultation over its Selective Licensing Scheme arrangements.
Further details about the consultation, which closed on 12 August 2026, are available on the Let’s Talk County Durham website.
Selective licensing requires landlords of privately rented properties in designated areas to obtain a licence and comply with specified management and property standards. Durham County Council consulted on proposals for a new selective licensing scheme from April 2027, following the expiry of the current scheme, including the areas to be covered and the proposed licence conditions.
Below is Chilton Town Council’s response, submitted as part of the consultation.
Chilton Town Council Consultation Response: Proposed New Selective Licensing
Scheme – Urgent Request for the Inclusion of Chilton in the scheme
I am writing on behalf of Chilton Town Council and the residents we represent to formally
respond to the public consultation on the proposed new Selective Licensing Scheme.
While the Town Council welcomes the Council’s broader efforts to elevate private rental
standards, we strongly object to the current omission that areas of the Chilton Ward
(including Albert Street and Arthur Street- part of the historical locality known as the Five
Rows) are not included. We urge Durham County Council to review the proposed areas
to include these two specific streets into the final scheme to protect a deeply vulnerable
community.
Our rationale relies on critical technical arguments, local historical precedents, and a
severe escalation in community crisis documented at our most recent community
policing forum.
- The Local Escalation: The August 5 PACT Meeting
The severe community tension surrounding Albert and Arthur Streets has been building
systematically over a prolonged period. This long-standing crisis reached a critical
escalation point on 5th August 2026 at the localized Police and Communities Together
(PACT) meeting, which witnessed an unprecedented surge in attendance.
This major escalation in community anxiety follows a high-profile shoplifting incident
perpetrated by prolific, repeat offenders who reside within the poorly managed private
rented housing stock of the Five Rows. Residents attending the meeting expressed
profound vulnerability, detailing how unchecked petty theft, continuous anti-social
behaviour (ASB), and intimidation have stripped them of their safety. Crucially, older
residents explicitly stated they are now too frightened to leave their own homes. The
community is forcefully demanding local authority action, explicitly stating they currently
have zero quality of life due to the unregulated nature of these tenancies. - Statistical Justification: Private Rent Growth and Elevating Crime Rates
The statutory thresholds for implementing a Selective Licensing designation include
disproportionate concentrations of private rentals coupled with high rates of crime. Both
indicators are heavily met in this locality:
- The Private Rented Sector (PRS) According to ONS and Durham Insight Census
Data, the private rented sector across County Durham grew by a massive 42.8% over
a ten-year period. Local tracking by the Town Council mirrors this trend, showing that
terraced blocks on Albert and Arthur Streets have converted rapidly into a dense,
unchecked pocket of sub-mandatory HMOs and short-term private lets. - Escalating Local Crime Rates: According to localized Police.uk data and UK Crime
Statistics, the annual crime rate in the Chilton ward sits at 145 crimes per 1,000
resident population, which is significantly higher than the broader County Durham
average of 109 per 1,000. The hotspots identified in recent PACT data map precisely
onto these specific rows.
- The Displacement Effect and Limits of Mandatory HMO Licensing
Under the Housing Act 2004, Mandatory HMO Licensing strictly applies to properties
occupied by five or more people forming two or more households. Crucially, smaller
Houses in Multiple Occupation (three or four occupiers) escape this safety net. While the
Town Council acknowledges the implementation of the countywide Article 4 Direction to
regulate planning permissions for new HMO conversions, planning controls cannot
retrospectively fix the widespread operational mismanagement of existing, sub
mandatory HMOs and standard private tenancies.
Albert Street and Arthur Street have become dense hubs for smaller, poorly managed
private lets. By enforcing selective licensing in neighbouring areas while leaving these
specific terraced streets unregulated, the Council will trigger a severe “displacement
effect.” Absent landlords and problematic tenants will naturally migrate directly out of
licensed zones and into this unregulated pocket of Chilton, accelerating the current
crisis. - Evidence of Success: Reintroducing the Legacy Scheme Impact
Durham County Council holds definitive historical evidence proving that selective
licensing is the most effective tool to combat these local structural issues. Between 2008
and 2019, the Council successfully operated selective licensing designations in Chilton
West.
The Cabinet evaluations of the Chilton West legacy scheme demonstrated quantifiable
positive impacts, explicitly proving that the intervention led to a documented reduction
in reported crime and persistent ASB, as well as vast improvements in property
management standards. Following the expiration of the Chilton West scheme,
community stability has systematically eroded. The success of that legacy scheme
proves that licensing works for Chilton’s housing topology, and we are requesting that
these powers be strategically re-introduced to encompass Albert Street and Arthur
Street. - Current Escalation of Anti Social Behaviour and Criminal Activity
On behalf of our residents, the Town Council reports that the lack of robust, proactive
property licensing has directly fostered an environment of escalating criminality on these
two streets. Long-term residents are facing daily challenges with:
- Open drug-dealing, property damage, and late-night violence linked directly to
unvetted private rentals. - Severe environmental blight, continuous fly-tipping, and aggressive street drinking.
- Negligent, absentee landlords who consistently ignore complaints regarding tenant
conduct and refuse to maintain property standards.
Conclusion
Selective licensing is designed precisely for areas suffering from high levels of ASB and
deprivation linked to a high concentration of private rentals. The testimonies from the
August 5 PACT meeting show that Albert Street and Arthur Street perfectly mirror the
exact criteria set out in your draft evidence report.
Chilton Town Council strongly requests that Durham County Council cross-references
its environmental health, police, and ASB data for the Five Rows.. For the protection of
our vulnerable residents and to restore basic quality of life to the community, these
streets must be included in the final scheme.
Councillor Sue Reece
Chair of Chilton Town Council
11 August 2026
