Funding boost for councils to tackle rogue landlords

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Rogue Landlords:

The government has
confirmed that additional funding is being made available to councils
to tackle the menace of rogue landlords. The Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) says that over £4 million
is the amount to be shared out among 100 councils nationwide, which
equates to just £40,000 per council if the money were to be shared
equally.

However, the
allocation is to be via a bidding process. Councils were invited to
submit bids for the government’s Innovation and Enforcement Grant
Fund” by 1 December 2019. The money is earmarked to be spent by
the end of the current financial year, 31 March 2020.

However, the
Residetial Landlords Association (RLA) argues that the additional
funding is nowhere near enough to root out the problem of criminal
landlords, and although welcome is “not enough to tackle the scale
of the problem.”

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 root out the minority who bring the sector into
disrepute. Today’s funding 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 to 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.”

According to the
National Landlords Association (NLA), some of the successful project
bids already confirmed include:

• In Northampton
  the council will target the ‘very worst landlords’ through the
  formation of a ‘Special Operations Unit’
• In Greenwich
  new technology will be trialled that will be aimed at identifying
  renters in cold homes and helping ensure they can remain warm over
  winter

• 21 councils
  across Yorkshire and Humberside are to train over 100 enforcement
  officers
• Thurrock –
  ist to work closely with the care services to ensure that that most
  vulnerable tenants can secure decent accommodation.

Director of Policy
and Practice at the National Landlords Association (NLA) Chris
Norris, says:

“We welcome the
news that more funding will be made available for councils in England
to crack down on landlords who break the law and provide inadequate
services to tenants. While an overwhelming majority of landlords
provide an excellent service to their tenants, it is important that
the government makes a stand against criminals operating in the
private rented sector.

“However, this
one-time handout is wholly insufficient in contrast to the long-term
issues facing authorities burdened by ever more legislation of
increasing complexity. The offer of just over £4 million to be
spread across around 100 of the 343 local authorities – an average
of less than £40,000 per council – is simply not enough.

“Good landlords want to see fair enforcement and local authorities need far more substantial and consistent support and funding to be able to enforce properly in the PRS and rid the sector of the criminals operating within it.”

Private Rented Sector Innovation and Enforcement Grant Fund 2019/20

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