Shadow housing minister Jack Dromey has applauded Newham Council for its crackdown on landlords.
Dromey went with the mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, on a joint operation between the council, police and UK Border Agency. The swoop resulted in five arrests, the discovery of two HMOs operating without a licence, ten other unlicensed properties, and with a number of landlords being threatened with prosecution.
Dromey said: “It was inspiring to see first-hand the positive work Newham is doing to improve the lives of thousands of tenants by tackling rogue landlords and improving housing standards. It was shocking to see the Dickensian conditions that so many tenants endure.”
Newham is the first borough in the country to have introduced blanket mandatory licensing to all privately rented properties.
Wales said: “I am pleased Mr Dromey has recognised the hard work Newham is doing to improve conditions in the private rented sector.
“We will not accept vulnerable tenants in Newham being exploited by unscrupulous landlords. By ensuring properties are well managed and meet a good standard, we will also eliminate problems which are sometimes associated with poor quality private rented housing.
“We are leading the country with this ground-breaking scheme with other councils following our example.”
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Comments
Perhaps a more pertinent observation from Mr Dromey might have been to point out to Sir Robin that he had these powers before he fleeced thousands of landlords. Or is it a case of "we'll use the law but only if paid to do so"?
As Jack Dromey is the shadow housing minister it is important that letting agents and landlords know his trade union background.
Did Unite – one of the biggest unions in the country – try to “buy” a safe seat for its deputy general secretary Jack Dromey at the election-that-never-was in October 2007, with a £1million donation to the Labour party?
Watt writes: “The Transport and General Workers Union – one arm of Unite – made it clear they wanted their deputy general secretary Jack Dromey, who is married to Harriet Harman, on the safe-seat list.
“Gordon did not seem entirely comfortable with this but indicated that it was nothing to do with him. Together with Amicus, their other arm, Unite promised to donate £2million to the campaign.”
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/christopherhope/100022068/did-union-try-to-buy-a-safe-seat-for-jack-dromey-with-1million-donation-to-labour/