LANDLORDS are considering quitting Southend as it is “becoming so difficult” to keep up with costs, it has been claimed.

Southend Council charges landlords £808 for a licence as part of a scheme aimed at improving the quality of homes for renters and tackling rogue landlords.

However, Tory councillor Daniel Nelson claimed an “incredibly high” number of landlords are avoiding the city after a Freedom of Information request revealed the licence is the sixth most expensive licensing scheme in the country.

He added landlords are selling their properties and others are refusing to buy homes in Southend because of the fee.

Southend Labour - which now leads coalition running Southend Council - introduced the scheme in 2022 and council leader Daniel Cowan is confident it is proving a success. Mr Nelson, councillor for Southchurch ward, said: “This is saying that Southend is not a place for private landlords to invest.

“This means Southend is going to have a hard time encouraging private landlords to come in, purchase a property, and rent it out.

“In turn you end up having too many empty properties. That doesn’t help the housing situation at all. It is a travesty that we find Southend has the sixth highest landlord tax in the country.”

Judith Codarin, secretary of the South Essex Alliance of Landlords, said: “It is very difficult with increasing costs.

“There is no wonder we are having to put rents up. But you can’t just put the rents up, and we hate putting rents up.

“Especially when you have had a tenant for many, many years, it is so hard to do that.

“If you have only got one or two properties, you are having to bear these costs, the rent doesn’t always cover the costs for the property.

“People who are having to pay costs, may have to basically sell. So, it is having an impact.

“The good landlords shouldn’t be the ones targeted. It should just be the bad landlords, the people who don’t keep properties up to date.

“The whole scenario from every angle is becoming so difficult.”

Councils introduced the scheme to require landlords to meet certain standards of management and maintenance and protect vulnerable tenants.

Daniel Cowan, Labour councillor and leader of Southend Council, said: “The selective licensing scheme was introduced to help lift standards of private sector housing in specific and limited areas of the city.

“We are halfway through the five-year licensing phase and every indicator shows that it is proving successful.

“Most landlords in Southend provide decent accommodation but yet far too many people are living in sub-standard conditions and we will continue to explore every means possible to improve living conditions for local people.”