Tenants in Waltham Forest could be hit in the pocket next year according to landlords who now face an annual fee of up to £500 per property because of an ‘established link’ between anti-social behaviour and privately rented homes.

At a meeting of Waltham Forest Council’s cabinet yesterday, a borough-wide scheme was agreed to monitor landlords.

As of April next year landlords across the borough will be made to sign a register and pay a fee per let property as a part of the ‘selective licensing’ scheme.

It was voted in by half of the cabinet unanimously, the other four sat out - because they are landlords.

Outlining the plans for the five-year project, Khevyn Limbajee, portfolio holder for housing, told the cabinet the scheme is used in other boroughs to bring down the amount of anti-social behaviour such as fly-tipping.

For the full story see this week's Waltham Forest Guardian and Chingford Guardian, out on Thursday.