New measures aim to crack down on rogue landlords

New measures aim to crack down on rogue landlords

A number of new measures have been brought in by the government as part of the crackdown on rogue landlords.

Set out by Housing and Planning minister Alok Sharma, the new rules state that for landlords in England who rent out properties occupied by 5 or more people, from 2 or more separate households will require a licence. This is, however, subject to clearance from parliament.

The change, estimated to apply to over 160,000 homes, will enable councils to take further action on rogue landlords who rent out overcrowded properties or provide sub-standard accommodation.

In addition, details of criminal offences have also been delivered by the government, automatically resulting in someone being banned from being a landlord. Scheduled to come in to force in April this year, those convicted of crimes including burglary could be added to a database of unscrupulous landlords and no longer be able to rent out properties as a result.

Commenting on the new measures, Alok Sharma stated: “Every tenant has a right to a safe, secure and decent home. But far too many are being exploited by unscrupulous landlords who profit from providing overcrowded, squalid and sometimes dangerous homes.

“Enough is enough and so I’m putting these rogue landlords on notice – shape up or ship out of the rental business.

“Through a raft of new powers we are giving councils the further tools they need to crack down these rogue landlords and kick them out of the business for good.”

Georgia Owen

Georgia is the Content Executive and will be your primary contact when submitting your latest news. While studying for an LLB at the University of Liverpool, Georgia gained experience working within retail, as well as social media management. She later went on to work for a local newspaper, before starting at Today’s Conveyancer.

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