£5m pot to tackle rogue landlords announced

The Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has today announced a £5m fund to crackdown on rogue landlords across England.

48 councils will split the cash, which will be used in order to root out irresponsible landlords that force their tenants to live in unsuitable and dangerous properties.

Improving the sector

Additionally, the money will assist councils to conduct inspections, surveys and demolish ‘beds in sheds’ and other prohibited buildings.

Since 2011, almost 40,000 inspections have taken place across the country, with 3,000 landlords served with enforcement actions, statutory notices or prosecutions.

Lewis has provided the funding to try and make sure that millions of hard-working, law-abiding tenants receive a better deal when renting a property.

Tough tackling

Mr Lewis said that, ‘many private rental tenants are happy with their home and the service they receive, but there are still rogue landlords that exploit vulnerable people and force their tenants to live in overcrowded and squalid accommodation.’[1]

‘We are determined to tackle these rogue which is why we are providing 48 councils with extra funding, so they can get rid of the cowboy operators in their area and bring an end to tenants living in miserable homes in the name of profit. We also want to raise the quality and choice of rental accommodation across the sector. The funding will ensure tenants know what level of service they can expect and have confidence to get help and take action if things go wrong,’ he added.[1]

A better buy-to-let sector

The announcement comes as part of the proposals in the Housing and Planning Bill, aimed at ensuring England’s 9 million private sector tenants are given better standards by their landlords.

Included in the Housing and Planning Bill proposals are:

• a database of rogue landlords and agents convicted of previous offences
• total banning orders for the most prolific offenders
• introduction of civil penalties up to £30,000, instead of prosecution
• a more hardline fit and proper persons test for landlords of licensable properties, such as HMO’s

Councils

A full-run down of the forty-eight councils and how much of the £5m they have been allocated is as follows:

• Birmingham £110,250
• Blackburn with Darwen £39,375
• Blackpool £150,000
• Boston £74,600
• Bradford £45,000
• Bristol £135,000
• Burnley £18,200
• Calderdale £100,000
• City of Lincoln £96,071
• Cornwall £127,500
• Croydon £15,000
• Derby £13,161
• Ealing £150,000
• Fenland £44,500
• Hastings £122,734
• Hyndburn £112,500
• Ipswich £56,250
• Islington £112,500
• Lambeth £90,000
• Leeds £70,000
• Lewisham £151, 378
• Liverpool £112, 500
• London Borough of Barking and Dagenham £250,000
• London Borough of Brent £295,000
• London Borough of Enfield £360,000
• London Borough of Hackney £36,400
• London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham £91,000
• London Borough of Haringey £100,000
• London Borough of Hounslow £67,500
• London Borough of Newham £428,241
• London Borough of Southwark £31,200
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets £100,000
• London Borough of Waltham Forest £225,000
• Luton £94,000
• Manchester £60,000
• Middlesbrough £100,000
• Newcastle £70,000
• North East Lincolnshire 64,250
• Nottingham £151,079
• Pendle £22,500
• Peterborough £112,500
• Plymouth £60,000
• Royal Borough of Greenwich £175,000
• Salford £63,952
• Slough £90,000
• Thanet £88,737
• Kensington and Chelsea £91,000
• Torbay Council £90,000

[1]

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/5-million-cash-for-councils-to-stop-rogue-landlords