Only 39 Rogue Landlords And Agents Hit With Banning Orders

Laws introduced in April 2018 empowered local authorities to issue banning orders to the most serious offending landlords and agents operating in their communities. Those handed a ban are prevented from renting out properties, engaging in property management or letting agency work. But since the new powers were introduced, only a small number of people have been placed on the database. Before the database was launched, the government claimed that 10,500 rogue landlords were operating in England and that it expected more than 600 of the worst offenders would make it on to the database. Only 39 entries from 25 local authorities have been made so far. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/05/only-39-rogue-landlords-and-agents-hit-with-banning-orders

Rogue Landlord Told To Pay Back £739,000 Over Illegal Housing

A rogue landlord who operated illegal rooming houses in London has been told to pay back £739,000 in illicit earnings or face jail, in one of the biggest confiscation orders of its kind, the council that investigated the case has said. Planning enforcement officers at Brent council discovered up to 15 people living in some of the homes including, in one property, a family of four in one room, a family of three in another and three single men in another. The council said the housing, owned by Mohammed Mehdi Ali and his father, was some of the worst its officers had seen. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/28/brent-rogue-landlord-pay-back-illegal-london-housing

Council With Strong Record Tackling Rogue Landlords Has Licensing Extension Rejected

A London council with a strong record on tackling rogue landlords has had an application to extend its licensing scheme rejected by MHCLG. In response to the Council’s pre-Christmas application, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has indicated he is “not minded to approve” the extension of the selective-licensing scheme. As it asked of Liverpool, MHCLG says it needs more evidence. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/council-with-strong-record-tackling-rogue-landlords-has-licensing-extension-rejected/

MHCLG Consults On Widening Access For Rogue Landlords’ Database

The MHCLG has launched a consultation on widening tenants’ access and reviewing the scope of offences that lead to inclusion on the Rogue Landlords Database. The consultation will close on 12 October 2019. The database contains information relating to housing offences committed by landlords and property agents. Currently, local authorities must make an entry if a landlord or property agent has received a banning order. However, they have discretion on database submissions for offenders that have had two or more civil penalties within a 12-month period. The database is currently only accessible to local authorities as part of their enforcement strategy, but the consultation is seeking views on widening this access to the general public. Download the consultation from the MHCLG website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/rogue-landlord-database-reform

Renters May Get Access To Rogue Landlord Database

A database of rogue landlords would be opened up to prospective tenants under government plans. The Rogue Landlords Database was launched in 2018 and only has ten names on it so far. It includes those who have been banned for failing to make a property habitable, or have been convicted of serious offences. At the moment the list is only open to local authorities but under a package of rent reforms it will be opened up. The proposals apply to England as housing policy has been devolved. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49062504

No Rogue Landlords Issued With Banning Orders In 12 Months

Not a single rogue landlord has been issued with one of the government’s new banning orders, a year after the key new power in the battle to root out the country’s worst rental property owners was launched. New laws which took effect in April 2018 mean that slum landlords handed one of the new bans by the courts are prevented from letting out housing across England. Their details must also be entered on to central government’s new rogue landlord database for local authorities to share. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/15/no-rogue-landlords-issued-with-banning-orders-in-12-months

New Guidance For Local Authorities To Crack Down On Rogue Landlords

Local authorities across the country are set to receive a new package of online support as part of the government’s commitment to give greater protection to tenants, and reform the private rented sector for the better. The publication of 2 new guidance documents, one for local authority enforcement practitioners and another for tenants and landlords, signals the latest step in the government cracking down on the small minority of criminal landlords who exploit tenants for their own gains. Local authority enforcement officers play a crucial role in making sure people in rented accommodation have somewhere safe and secure to live. Read more on the GovUK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-minister-unveils-new-guidance-for-local-authorities-to-crack-down-on-rogue-landlords

Councils Caught Out Over Failing To Tackle Bad Landlords

Councils across England are failing to use new powers to kick out crooks across the private rented sector. Figures made public by parliamentary answer show that over the 18 months until the end of September last year, just three Rent Repayment Orders across England had been made by councils. David Smith, RLA policy director, said: “For all the talk about (councils) needing new powers, the reality is that many are not properly using the wide range of powers they already have to drive out criminal landlords. Laws without proper enforcement mean nothing – it is time for councils to start acting against the crooks.” Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/councils-caught-out-over-failing-to-tackle-bad-landlords/

Fears Over Rogue Landlords 'Making A Quick Buck' From Most Vulnerable

Landlords have been urged to take more care of their tenants and not just look to “make a quick buck” by letting out substandard properties. In 2017/18 Bradford Council’s Housing Standards Team received 1,827 service requests relating to the poor condition of housing in the district. This was a seven per cent rise on the previous year. And in the first nine months of 2018/19 the service has received 1,590 service requests. Mould, poor heating and fire risks were the most common reason for call-outs, and officers can force landlords or property owners to bring the buildings up to standard. Most of the properties in question were privately rented. Read more on the Bradford Telegraph & Argus website.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/17531787.fears-over-rogue-landlords-making-a-quick-buck-from-most-vulnerable/

Rogue Landlord Enforcement Funding Cut By 25%

Councils across England have cut the amount they are spending on enforcement work to tackle criminal landlords by a quarter in less than 10 years. Whilst spending by local authorities in England on housing standard activities was £44.5 million in 2009/10, by 2017/18 that had fallen to £33.5 million, a drop of £11m. With over 150 Acts of Parliament containing more than 400 regulations affecting the private rented sector, the RLA is arguing that better enforcement of these laws, backed up by greater funding, is key to driving out the minority of landlords who can make life a misery for tenants and bring the sector into disrepute. Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/rogue-landlord-enforcement-funding-cut-by-25/

Council Urges Ban On Housing Benefit Being Paid To Rogue Landlords

A London council that banned a rogue landlord and then directly paid him more than £500,000 in housing benefit has called on the government to legislate to prevent local authorities from making similar payments in the future. Brent made repeated payments of taxpayers’ money to Bernard McGowan, who has a £30m property empire and failed the council’s “fit and proper” test in 2015. The decision against McGowan, who was convicted six times under the Housing Act between 2014 and 2017, meant the landlord was barred from directly renting out houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) across Brent, or any sort of home in eight of the borough’s wards where landlords specifically require a licence. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jan/21/council-ban-housing-benefit-rogue-landlords-brent-bernard-mcgowan

More Than 50 Councils Will Share Extra Funding To Crack Down On Rogue Landlords

More than 50 councils across the country will share nearly £2.4 million of extra funding to crack down on rogue landlords.

·         More than 50 councils to benefit from nearly £2.4 million to ramp up action against the minority of irresponsible landlords who make tenants’ lives a misery

·         Money to be used to boost short-term staffing and create new digital tools to help councils better protect tenants

·         Measures build on action taken by government to protect renters and drive up standards across the sector

Read more on the MHCLG website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-minister-confirms-funding-for-councils-to-crack-down-on-rogue-landlords

Rogue Landlord Faces Jail If He Doesn't Pay £1.5m Fine

A rogue landlord who illegally carved up family homes to create cramped bedsits and charged tenants hundreds of pounds a month is facing prison unless he pays a £1.5m penalty for breaking planning laws. Vispasp Sarkari, 56, from Harrow, has been ordered to pay back the money earned over several years from dozens of tenants after he was found guilty of flouting planning rules by converting properties into smaller bedsits without permission and ignoring enforcement notices. He subdivided suburban homes into what council officials described as “substandard box-room bedsits” in which whole families would live, paying hundreds of pounds per month in rent, often coming from the public purse through housing benefit. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/05/rogue-landlord-in-harrow-faces-jail-if-he-doesnt-pay-15m-fine

Cross-Party Calls For Rogue Landlords To Lose Properties

MPs have called on the government to confiscate properties from the country’s worst landlords after a series of revelations about tenants being exploited by rogue sections of the private rented housing sector. The calls followed a hard-hitting select committee report in April, as well as a joint Guardian and ITV News investigation which last month revealed that convicted landlords ruled unfit to rent out their properties were continuing to operate by exploiting a gap in the law. MPs from across the Commons have urged the housing minister Heather Wheeler to introduce new powers to seize properties of the worst landlords. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/29/mps-call-for-rogue-landlords-to-lose-properties

Rogue Landlords: 90% Of Local Authorities Fail To Issue Fines

Almost 90% of local authorities failed to use new powers to fine rogue landlords last year, in the latest finding to suggest tenants are being failed by a lax enforcement regime. It follows a Guardian and ITV News investigation in October, which revealed a string of weaknesses in the legislation governing the private rented market and which also raised questions about the rigour with which certain councils pursued any offenders. Only 11% of local authorities issued a civil penalty notice against a landlord or letting agent during 2017-18, according to data provided by 293 English councils responding to freedom of information requests made by the Residential Landlords Association. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/29/rogue-landlords-most-local-authorities-in-england-fail-to-issue-fines

Landlords Pushing Up Rents To Exploit Housing Benefit Shortfall

Benefit cuts and unscrupulous landlords have combined to create an explosion in temporary housing that is costing taxpayers more than a billion pounds a year. The latest figures reveal that housing benefit does not cover rents in 95 per cent of the country, pushing thousands of families into homelessness. The gap between welfare support and costs is more than £100 a month in much of England and in excess of £900 in central London. Spending by councils on emergency bed and breakfast accommodation has risen by 147 per cent in five years. The number of units has grown by only 32 per cent, leading to claims that rates are being inflated by “wily landlords” to take advantage of spiralling demand.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/landlords-pushing-up-rents-to-exploit-housing-benefit-shortfall-bpvht6lbg

£2m Fund Announced For Councils To Tackle Rogue Landlords

Housing Minister Heather Wheeler has announced a £2m fund for councils to crack down on rogue landlords. The fund is intended for a small minority of landlords who continue to break the law and offer inadequate or unsafe housing. Councils will be able to bid for funding to increase enforcement action against irresponsible landlords and to develop and test innovative ways to clamp down on unsuitable accommodation. Read more on 24housing.

 https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/2m-fund-announced-for-councils-to-tackle-rogue-landlords/

Incompetent' Council Kicked Out Of Government Housing Scheme

A city council has been branded “incompetent” and kicked out of a Government scheme designed to protect tenants against rogue landlords. The selective licensing scheme allows councils to keep tabs on landlords and make sure they are providing good accommodation. Under the scheme, landlords must obtain a licence to ensure they are doing the right thing and meeting safety and quality standards. Brighton and Hove City Council was granted permission to operate a selective licensing scheme. But now Housing Minister Heather Wheeler has written to the council to revoke its licence. A source close to the minister said the decision was due to “incompetence, mismanagement and a lack of due diligence”. Read more on the Argus website.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17193755.incompetent-council-kicked-out-of-government-housing-scheme/

MPs Back Legal Action Against Rogue Landlords

New rights for tenants to sue landlords if they do not properly maintain their properties have been approved by MPs. The Commons has passed a bill requiring homes in the private and social rented sector to be fit for human habitation and enabling tenants to take legal action if basic standards are not met. Housing minister Heather Wheeler said a "stubborn, hardcore minority" of rogue landlords were being put on notice. They should "improve their properties or leave the business", she said. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45990245

Tenants Will Get Access To Rogue Landlord Database

Theresa May has pledged to give tenants access to the government’s new rogue landlord database after an investigation revealed that not a single name had been entered into the system in more than six months since its launch – and that even when landlords’ names were listed, the public would not be allowed to see them. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Our rogue landlord database has only been in place since April and … only offences committed from April this year can be included, and it can take several months to secure convictions. We are clear that we expect to see entries in the database from the new year. We also intend to make information in the database available to prospective and existing tenants.” Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/24/government-policing-of-rogue-landlords-labelled-pathetic