Shapps: £1.8m to Tackle Scandal of 'Beds in Sheds'

Criminal landlords trapping vulnerable people in 'suburban shanty-towns' will get the justice they deserve, Housing Minister Grant Shapps has pledged.  He allocated a £1.8 million fund to areas blighted by so-called 'beds in sheds', to tackle the problem head-on and end this growing practice by ruthless landlords.  Mr Shapps appealed to councils who may have turned a blind eye in the past to 'beds in sheds', to use this funding and the range of powers at their disposal, to tackle the issue.  'Beds in sheds' are often rented to migrants, including some with no right to be in the UK, at extortionate rates. Their foreign 'tenants' often find it difficult to return home quickly after destroying their passports to avoid removal. With few other options, they will put up with cramped conditions, dodgy wiring and poor sanitation as an alternative to life on the streets.  Mr Shapps said that the £1.8 million fund would help the worst affected councils flush out those who exploit migrants at their most vulnerable.  Read more on the CLG website.