New hub to target rogue landlords in Greater Manchester

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rogue landlords:

Greater Manchester Council (GM), led by Mayor Andy Burnham,
is to use a £128,000 central government grant to create an information hub for tenants
in rental properties.

The “hub’, says the authority, is to help housing officers
share information about how to deal with rogue landlords throughout GM’s 10
district towns, and to help housing officers and tenants bring illegal landlord
and letting agent practices to book.

Those landlords neglecting their tenants and operating
unsafe homes will be targeted in the government funded initiative, which will
initially be trailed for three months says Andy Burnham, and will be a
‘starting point’ for a range of initiatives he told the Oldham Evening Chronicle.

“The majority of landlords in GM provide decent homes and
abide by the law, but with this funding GMCA will be able to more easily bring
negligent landlords to task,� said Mr Burnham

New legislation coming into force this month will mean that tenants
can take their landlords to court if their accommodation is deemed “unfit for
human habitation�.

If this is shown to be the case, then landlords could be
either ordered to pay their tenant compensation, or be required to carry out
repairs to remedy the health and safety issues.

The idea of the ‘hub’ is to promote the new laws around the
GM authority so that tenants become are aware of their tenancy rights, and Mr
Burnham added:

“The establishment of this hub is just the starting point
for a wave of activity we’re planning use to improve GM’s private renting offer
– for both tenants and landlords.

“We’re also exploring options for an ethical lettings agency
and working up a scheme designed to showcase the region’s good landlords and
call out the bad.

“We’re determined to get renting right, improve relations
between tenants and landlords, prevent tenants from reaching crisis point or
becoming homeless, and oust the minority of private landlords causing
tremendous harm to vulnerable people and local communities.

“Private rented eviction is one of the biggest problems and
we need to put a stop ‘no-fault’ eviction. With more and more households
becoming homeless due to being evicted from a private tenancy, it’s important
we support new safeguards to protect tenants.�

The new legislation coming into force this month has be
brought about by the government to tackle what is recognised as a problem with
a small proportion of landlords who operate below standard rentals.

The new rules will supplement those already in place and
introduced recently by the government which include powers already available to
local authorities such as Civil Penalty fines, Improvement Notices and Rent
Repayment Orders.

Salford City mayor Paul Dennett, who is the city region’s
lead member for housing, homelessness and infrastructure, told the Oldham Evening Chronicle:

“Everyone has the right to live in a home that is safe and
secure, and it is vital we crack down on the small minority of landlords who
are causing serious harm and dragging our communities down.

“There is some excellent work going on within individual
districts, and through this hub we’ll pool best practice and resources to drive
improvements for both tenants and landlords across the whole of GM.�

The funding comes from a new initiative instigated by Housing
Secretary James Brokenshire MP and Housing Minister Heather Wheeler at the Ministry
of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Heather WheelerMP has said:

“Everyone has the right to live in a home that is safe and
secure, and it is vital we crack down on the small minority of landlords who
are not giving their tenants this security.

“This extra funding will further boost councils’ ability to root out rogue landlords and ensure that poor-quality homes in the area are improved, making the housing market fairer for everyone.�

Grater Manchester Combined Authority – Mayor’s Office

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – New hub to target rogue landlords in Greater Manchester | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: New hub to target rogue landlords in Greater Manchester

If you enjoyed this article please consider sharing it!