The government has announced an additional £4m in funding for local councils to combat rogue agents and landlords - but it’s been described as simply too little by a trade body.
The government has described the new funds - to be split between 100 local authorities - as a “crackdown” on rogue landlords, but the Residential Landlords’ Association says it’s inadequate.
The association says it has long been calling on ministers to provide proper, multi-year funding for councils to enable them to plan long term strategies to root out for good those criminal landlords who bring the sector into disrepute.
This should involve sufficient funds to boost the number and skills of Environmental Health Officers, insists the association.
RLA policy director David Smith says: “We welcome the government’s focus on rooting out criminal landlords. For too long the debate has been driven by ideological calls for more regulation of the sector. What is needed is better enforcement of the powers already available to tackle the minority who bring the sector into disrepute.
“Today’s funding though is nowhere near enough. Instead of offering inadequate and sporadic pots of money, it is critical that the Government provides proper, multi-year funding to enable councils to plan and prepare workable strategies to find the criminal landlords.
“This should be supported by councils having the political will to prioritise enforcement against the crooks rather than tying good landlords up in licensing schemes which do nothing to protect tenants.”
The new funding will be used by councils to take enforcement action against rogue agents and landlords, and advise tenants of their housing rights.
The government says “this will continue the government’s ongoing work to make the private rented sector fairer and stamp out criminal practices for good.”
Among the councils to benefit from the funding are:
- 21 councils across Yorkshire and Humberside – to train over 100 enforcement officers across the region to ensure standards are being met by landlords;
- Northampton – to create a ‘Special Operations Unit’ to enforce against the very worst landlords responsible for over 100 homes in the town;
Thurrock - to work with the care service to ensure the most vulnerable young tenants are in decent, well-maintained homes;
Greenwich- to trial new technology to identify particularly cold homes to ensure renters are warm over the winter period.
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What about Govt funding to assist LL who suffer losses of £9 billion per year caused by rogue tenants!?
Govt loses billions in taxes from LL caused by rogue tenants.
Effectively the taxpayer is subsidising feckless tenants' lifestyles.
No LL causes even a £million in losses for tenants in a year.
Feckless tenants are a major problem for the PRS and Govt legislation facilitates such fecklessness.
To prevent this tenant fecklessness all Govt needs to facilitate is a fast eviction process in cases of rent arrears which is where most of the losses suffered by the PRS originate.
So NO court action required.
After 2 months of rent arrears which is 1 month and 1 day............14 days later the LL removes the rent defaulting tenants with Police assistance if necessary.
Any LL removing tenants who aren't in 2 months rent arrears to be arrested and prosecuted for wrongful eviction.
I doubt one LL will ever ve arrested in such circumstances.
It would greatly benefit the Treasury if there was a fast track eviction process when rent defaulting occurs.
LL would be able to relet quickly so enabling taxes to be paid.
It is rogue tenants that are the major issue.
Rogue LL are almost a minor detail.
If councils were funded sufficiently to enforce already robust housing legislation then there wouldn't be many rogue LL.
Paul Barrett,
Totally well said. Then we need a rogue tenants register data base which will allow LL to check any wrong-doing by the prospective tenant!
perhaps if theirbad behaviour had really bitter consequences like being left homeless for monthson end these feckless tenants would change their life-styles and become more responsible for their debts and better, quieter and cleaner neighbours!
I believe that perversely when S21 is abolished S8 will be the only eviction process allowed.
My understanding is that in cases of rent arrears an automatic CCJ is registered against the tenant.
But apparently is not automatically registered with the Registry Trust.
It seems that this needs to ve requested by the LL.
But eventually every evicted tenant most of whom have caused some debt detriment to the LL will have a CCJ against them.
I suppose eventually it might be said that the Registry Trust records will be a de facto Rogue Tenant Register.
If S8 would be the only eviction process then every wrongun tenant will have a CCJ.
I don't believe that the likes of Shelter etc have appreciated at all that with abolishment of S21 most wrongun rent defaulting tenants will have a CCJ against them.
You can be declined for a mobile phone contract with a CCJ!!
I wonder whether many wrongun tenants will realise that it might be better to vacate rather than risk a S8 eviction process and the consequent and inevitable CCJ.
I believe that with only a S8 process allowed many rent defaulting tenants will find themselves homeless.
The problem will be for LL as to whether they will want to take on a tenant with a recorded history of rent defaulting.
I believe many LL will sell properties which tend to attract rent Defaulters.
There will be many changed behaviours as a consequence of S21 abolishment.
Usage of S21 has to a large extent hidden the level of rent defaulting that occurs in the PRS.
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