 Fund will help councils tackle rogue landlords |
More than 50 councils
across England will receive almost £2.4 million to crack down on rogue
landlords.
The Ministry of
Housing, Communities and Local Government has assigned the funding to help
councils increase action against criminal landlords. Councils will be
‘encouraged’ to report back to share best practice and new approaches to
improved enforcement.
Housing minister
Heather Wheeler said: ‘This extra funding will further boost councils’ ability
to root out rogue landlords and ensure that poor-quality homes in the area are
improved, making the housing market fairer for everyone.
‘The government has
already equipped local authorities with strong powers to tackle criminal
landlords, ranging from fines to outright bans for the worst offenders.’
The funding is
expected to be used on a range of initiatives, including boosting short-term
staffing, creating digital housing tools, and helping build relationships with
external organisations such as the emergency services, legal services and local
housing advocates. Some councils may use the funds to support tenants to take
action against poor standards through rent repayment orders.
Wheeler added: ‘This
builds on ongoing government action to drive up standards in the private rented
sector – ensuring millions of hard-working tenants can live in the homes they
deserve and creating a housing market that works for everyone.’
Cllr Judith Blake, housing
spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: ‘The vast majority of
landlords are responsible and provide decent housing for their tenants, however
the reputations of that majority are being tarnished by the small minority of
landlords who exploit loopholes with no regard to their responsibilities.
‘Councils want to
support a good quality local private rented offer in their communities, but can
be held back by significant funding pressures and uncertainty.
‘It is therefore good
that the government has announced a funding boost for councils to help ensure
the small minority of rogue landlords improve standards.
‘We ask that the
government now follows this announcement by granting more freedom for councils
to establish local licensing schemes.’
The Greater London
Authority and Greater Manchester Combined Authority have been given over
£330,000 between them. They will coordinate work to tackle rogue landlords operating
across multiple local authorities in their regions.
Walsall Council has
also been given extra funding, which it will use it to improve cross-agency
enforcement work using drones and thermal mapping to identify problem
properties. Lancaster City Council, meanwhile, plans to create a training
programme for existing enforcement staff.