Cash for council to stop rogue landlords

Rochdale Council is to recieve £111,000 to tackle rogue landlords: landlords that force their tenants to live in squalid and dangerous properties, making their lives a misery.

The funding is part of a package of measures that will ensure millions of hard-working tenants get a better deal when they rent a home.

New legislation, which came into force earlier this month, will enable courts to take account of landlords’ assets, as well as their income, when levying fines for housing offences.

Redress schemes for lettings and property management will now be able to come forward for approval, after the application criteria was published. All agents will be required to join one of the approved schemes, so their tenants have somewhere to turn if they don’t get the service they deserve.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has agreed to help develop a voluntary code of practice on property management, and will host a workshop early in the new year to get the work started. The code will set standards for the management of rental properties, so tenants know what level of service they should expect from their landlord; and

There will be a review of property conditions in the private rented sector, starting with the publication of a discussion document early in the New Year, which will consider the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, as well as standards and safety in rented homes.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “The funding awarded by DCLG will help us to deliver “Operation Maverick” which is a partnership with the police and the fire service to reduce the number of overcrowded and unsafe privately-rented properties in Rochdale. The extra resources will be used over the next two years to enable more visits to properties, better information for residents and more enforcement activity. This co-ordinated approach will ultimately lead to fewer rogue landlords slipping through the net.”