LETTING agents in Oxford say they are the best people to tackle rogue landlords, anti-social tenants and unfit rented homes.

Oxford City Council is set to extend its houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) licensing scheme from 600 larger properties to all HMOs in the city.

This would require around 4,000 extra homes to be inspected and licensed by housing officers.

But letting agents claim the council does not have the manpower to carry out the job and say each licensed agent could police hundreds of homes, allowing council staff to concentrate on spot checks.

Jan Bartlett, of Premier Lettings in Cowley Road, said every tenant should have the right to a safe home and a good landlord, but that a licensed agent could be held responsible for ensuring standards were met.

She said: “If there was a problem, with rubbish or parking, the agent would have to deal with it.

“They would have to check the safety, the gas the electric. If they didn’t, they would lose their licence.”

Bob Urwin, at Martin and Co, in Woodins Way, said the scheme to licence all HMOs was impractical.

He said: “I am in favour of what they are trying doing but don’t licence the properties, licence the letting agents.”

According to council figures, HMOs form an unusually high percentage of houses in the city, with one in five of the population living in one.

The council’s house condition survey in 2005 reported that HMOs provided the poorest homes in the city, and that 70 per cent were unsafe.

At present HMOs must be licensed by the city council if they contain five or more unrelated tenants and have three or more storeys.

This applies to about 600 properties and costs landlords £1,200 for a five-year licence. The extended scheme would cover any property with three or more unrelated tenants, which equates to more than 4,000 homes in the city.

Under the proposed scheme, HMO landlords would have to apply for a licence and pass a ‘fit and proper person’ test.

Council leader Bob Price said having council officers inspect all properties was key to the scheme.

He added: “It’s the property that matters and it is the property which causes the problems for tenants and neighbours. That external and internal inspection is key to getting what we want.”

Public meetings on the scheme will be held on Monday in the Assembly Room, at Oxford Town Hall, at 6.30pm, and on Tuesday at Cheney Community Hall, at Cheney School, at 6.30pm.