New evictions law will be toothless without funding, warn councils

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Councils could struggle to enforce new eviction laws under the Renters Reform Bill, according to the Local Government Association.

It has warned that authorities will need more staff and funding because every council in England already has a shortage of environmental health officers and tenancy relations officers, who investigate potential offences related to private rented housing.

Housing spokesman Darren Rodwell (pictured) told the BBC: “New regulation is important, and we welcome it, but we need to make sure we have the right financial package to be able to enforce and deliver it.”

Rodwell, the Labour leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, added there were “still some unknowns” about how councils would fund enforcement “with the limited resources we have currently”.

Promises

The government has promised to fully fund any additional costs for councils after Section 21 is abolished, while councils can keep any revenue from civil penalties, with this ring-fenced for further enforcement activity. However, Rodwell said fines did not always cover the cost of investigating breaches.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health agreed that more funding was needed to ensure the new legislation was effective. Henry Dawson, a member of the organisation’s housing advisory panel, pointed to a “desperate shortage” of environmental health officers and tenancy relations officers.

Raft of responsibilities

“If we’re about to bring in a whole raft of new responsibilities for local authorities, we need to bring in more staffing to support that and also a sustainable model for funding of new staff,” Dawson added.

A Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities spokesman said: “We will continue to support councils financially so they have the right resources to put tenants first, that includes fully funding any additional costs that may fall on councils as a result of our proposed reforms.”

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