Call for crackdown on rogue landlords - Palmers Solicitors

Call for crackdown on rogue landlords

Tough new measures including jail sentences are needed to tackle rogue landlords, councils warn.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, is calling for stronger sentencing guidelines for magistrates and a wider range of penalties to target those who exploit their tenants by providing sub-standard accommodation and other shoddy practices.

LGA points to an instance in which a landlord received a fine of just £100 in a case where six tenants were living in a property for a year without fire alarms or proper escape routes.

Delays in prosecution are also in the sights of the LGA which says it can take up to 16 months to bring a rogue operator to justice.

In response, councils are calling for support to make firm decisions around what satisfies the licence-holding criteria of ‘a fit and proper person’. A blacklist of persistent abusers of regulations also has broad support, although government guidance is sought as to funding and administrative maintenance.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, LGA vice-chairman, said: “For a landlord who owns hundreds of houses and gets tens of thousands of pounds every month, it’s like giving a premiership footballer a speeding fine of £1,000 – it makes no difference.

“We have to have some things available to the courts to use in the most serious of circumstances.”

Councillor Peter Box, LGA environment spokesman, added: “The current system for prosecuting rogue landlords is not fit for the 21st century.

“Rogue landlords are exploiting this and endangering tenants’ lives. The system allows landlords to treat fines as ‘operating costs’ and they can offset these against the profits they are raking in. We need a system which protects the good landlords whose reputation is being dragged down by the bad ones.”

“Magistrates should be able to take the seriousness of the offence into consideration and jail rogue landlords who put lives at risk.”

Palmers’ Erin Duffy, whose expertise includes advising residential landlords, said: “There are many upstanding landlords who offer a vital service in their communities but, however well-meaning, it remains vitally important they understand their legal obligations.

“They need to know how to achieve compliance with existing law and be aware of future obligations. For more information on how we can help, please contact our residential landlords team.”