Local Authorities can’t Charge Landlords for Waste Collection

Local authorities cannot charge landlords for the collection of waste from student accommodation, the National Landlords Association (NLA) has confirmed.

The NLA objected to the Parliamentary Under Secretary, Lord de Mauley, after several councils alerted companies in their area, telling them that free waste collections would end, and alternative commercial arrangements would be made, however, there would be charges for these services.

Local Authorities can’t Charge Landlords for Waste Collection

The reason for the new charges emerged from the councils that applied the definition in the Controlled waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, of “self-catering accommodation” to companies with self-catering housing for students.¹

This would result in extra costs, of up to £5,000 a year, for landlords.

Lord de Mauley has declared, however, that this legislation does not apply to student accommodation, instead, it is supposed for hotels, hostels, and professional holiday lets.

Lord de Mauley says: “It was never the Government’s intention to include waste from students and any private rented domestic property in the description of self-catering accommodation.

“Neither is it Coalition Government policy to target the private rented sector for new waste charges.”1

CEO of the NLA, Richard Lambert, says: “This misinterpretation of the regulations could have led to landlords being wrongly charged thousands of pounds to have rubbish collected.

“We are grateful to the minister for responding to the NLA’s call to clarify the position before more councils made the same mistake.

“The minister has also challenged landlords to play their part in increasing the amount of waste sent to recycling.

“We will be looking at how we can encourage our members to work with their tenants to make the most of the opportunities to recycle.”1

¹ http://www.landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/government-bins-waste-disposal-plan