A legal challenge to a council scheme that charges Croydon landlords for licences for their properties is to be heard at the High Court next week.

An application for a judicial review of the plans will be considered by a senior judge on Tuesday as landlords bid to force Croydon Council to bin the licences, which will cost up to £750.

A group called the Croydon Property Forum, a company registered in May in Bury, Greater Manchester, is behind the challenge.

LAST MONTH: Council facing High Court judicial review of controversial landlord licences

The licences come into force in October, having been approved by the council's cabinet in March in an attempt to clamp down on bad landlords.

Under the scheme, landlords must pay £750 - or £350 if they register early - for a five-year licence for each of their properties and face fines or prosecution if they breach its terms.

The council believes the licences, which will require every private landlord in the borough to prove they are "fit and proper" for the role, will cut down on crime and anti-social behaviour spawned by poor property management. 

But critics have complained the scheme unfairly punishes good landlords and have dubbed the licences a "tenant tax" because, they say, the costs will be added to rents.

The Croydon Property Forum has declined to comment on the judicial review application or give details of landlords behind it. But the company's sole named director is Brian Ronald Walmsley.

Mr Walmsley is also listed as a director of nine other companies, all registered in either Bury or Southampton.

At the hearing on Tuesday, a judge is expected to initially assess whether the Forum has grounds for a judicial review of the licensing scheme.

Enfield Council's decision to introduce similar licences were quashed by the High Court in December last year following a judicial review triggered by a landlord's challenge.

A Croydon Council spokesman said: "We are confident that our landlord licensing scheme is robust, lawful and will raise housing standards across the borough, and we’ll continue preparing to launch this scheme from October 1."