A similar ruling occurred last month, where an application by Liverpool City Council to renew its citywide landlord licensing scheme was rejected.

Furthermore, the RLA argues that the licensing schemes in question, are ineffective and merely brought in by councils so as to be seen to be doing something to tackle criminal landlords.

The RLA also accuses local authorities of using licensing schemes as a cash machine.

John Stewart, policy manager for the Residential Landlords Association, said: “We all want to see bad landlords driven out of the sector.

“However, licensing is not the answer. All it does is identify the good landlords who register and then tax them.

“They do nothing to flush out the criminals who stay under the radar.

“Instead, councils should use the wealth of data they can already access to find landlords and target resources to properly enforce the wide range of powers they have to deal with unsafe and sub-standard rented housing.”