Nottingham renters see £115m housing licensing value
By the Beehive Web local news desk. Published by beehiveweb.co.uk.
Nottingham’s private rented housing licensing schemes returned £4.62 in social value for every £1 invested, according to a UK-first report published by Nottingham City Council.
The independent Social Impact and Social Return on Investment report examined five years of licensing activity from 2020 to 2024. It found that £24.9 million of investment generated £114.9 million in social value across renter wellbeing, safer homes, neighbourhood conditions and reduced pressure on public services.
The figures do not mean the council received £114.9 million in cash. They are a social value calculation, designed to put an economic measure on outcomes such as fewer hazards, warmer homes, lower complaint levels and avoided costs for services including the NHS, police and fire services.
£4.62 returned for every £1 invested
The report places Nottingham at the centre of a wider housing policy debate because it is described as the first time in England that private rented housing licensing has been assessed using a Social Return on Investment approach.
The study covers the council’s private rented housing licensing schemes over the 2020-2024 period. It concludes that the schemes helped identify poor conditions, bring unlicensed landlords into compliance and support landlords who needed clearer standards and guidance.
| Measure | Reported finding |
|---|---|
| Investment assessed | £24.9 million |
| Social value generated | £114.9 million |
| Return calculated | £4.62 for every £1 invested |
| Renters directly benefiting | More than 14,500 |
| Unlicensed landlords brought into compliance | More than 7,400 |
| Social value linked to renter health, safety and wellbeing | £91 million |
Councillor Jay Hayes, Nottingham City Council’s Executive Member for Housing & Planning, said a safe, secure and affordable home underpins health, wellbeing, education, employment and community life.
“For almost a third of Nottingham’s residents, that home is in the private rented sector,” he said in the report foreword.
More than 14,500 renters linked to home improvements
For renters, the headline finding is the scale of direct housing impact. The report says more than 14,500 renters benefited from improvements to their homes during the five-year period.
Those benefits are framed around safer and warmer homes, fewer hazards and improved peace of mind for tenants. The largest share of the calculated social value, £91 million, is linked to renters’ health, safety and wellbeing.
That matters in a city where the private rented sector houses a large share of residents. Licensing can require landlords to meet set conditions, respond to defects and provide evidence that properties are being managed properly.
The report also says 36% of landlords reported improved knowledge of their responsibilities. That detail is significant because licensing schemes are often debated mainly as enforcement tools. Nottingham’s evaluation argues that the system also works through guidance, training, accreditation and clearer expectations for landlords already trying to meet the rules.
Neighbourhood complaints fell in licensed areas
The report connects housing licensing with neighbourhood conditions as well as individual homes. Nottingham City Council says licensed areas saw a 48% reduction in anti-social behaviour and a 45% reduction in waste complaints.
Those figures should be read as reported changes in licensed areas, not as proof that licensing alone caused every reduction. Anti-social behaviour and waste complaints can be affected by policing, local management, resident reporting habits, wider economic conditions and council services.
Even with that caveat, the findings give a clearer picture of why housing regulation is being discussed beyond the landlord-tenant relationship. Poorly managed rented homes can create problems for neighbours, emergency services and local streets, especially when hazards, overcrowding, waste or absentee management go unchecked.
The council says inspections and intelligence helped risks to be identified earlier, safeguarding concerns to be addressed and problems resolved before they escalated.
NHS, police and fire services included in the value calculation
The public service element is one of the reasons the report has wider UK relevance. Nottingham City Council says the social value calculation includes reduced pressure on services such as the NHS, police and fire services, alongside avoided fires, NHS savings and carbon reduction benefits.
For the NHS, poor housing can contribute to respiratory illness, injury risk, cold-related health problems and mental strain. For fire services, unsafe or poorly maintained homes can increase risk. For police and council teams, repeated complaints around waste, nuisance and unsafe management can become recurring demand.
The report’s value estimate attempts to capture some of those avoided costs and wider benefits. It is not the same as a budget line saving, and it should not be treated as a direct replacement for detailed service-level evidence. Its purpose is to show the broader value of intervention where rented housing conditions affect people’s daily lives and public agencies.
Councillor Hayes said the report moves the conversation beyond cost and instead focuses on value for residents, responsible landlords, partners and the city as a whole.
National interest in Nottingham’s approach
The council says the report has already attracted national-level interest and is informing discussions about how housing regulation can be evaluated across England.
For other councils, the most transferable element may be the measurement method rather than Nottingham’s exact figures. Housing markets vary sharply by city, and licensing schemes differ in design, fees, enforcement capacity and local landlord profiles.
The Nottingham report gives policymakers a model for assessing whether licensing produces measurable outcomes beyond the number of licences issued or enforcement notices served.
“This report tells a powerful story about what housing licensing actually delivers on the ground,” Councillor Hayes said. “It shows that good landlords are supported, renters are better protected, and neighbourhoods are stronger and safer as a result.”
Source: Nottingham City Council
Source check Source trail
This article was written from Nottingham City Council’s published account of the housing licensing social impact report and keeps the social value figures in context.
- Checked the reported investment figure of £24.9 million against the stated £114.
- Separated social value from direct cash savings to avoid overstating the report’s financia...
- Included the 2020-2024 assessment period and the reported renter, landlord and complaint f...
- Identified Nottingham as the factual geographic scope rather than using the publisher or s...
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- Nottingham City Council
- Scope
- Nottingham
- Updated
- 2026-05-27 19:26
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