Rental reforms will fail unless there is a “proper plan” to improve council resources to tackle rogue and criminal landlords.
According to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the trade body found that, between 2021 and 2023, only £6m of all fines levied against rogue landlords in England were collected out of just under £13m.
Around 49% of English councils failed to issue a single fine during that period and 189 local authorities had issued five or fewer civil penalties from 2021 to 2023.
The report added that over 60% of all civil penalties were issued by just 10 local authorities.
The NRLA noted that there is increased pressure on councils in England, with a quarter saying it is likely they will have to apply for emergency government bailouts to stave off bankruptcy.
This will only be heightened by incoming private rental reforms, with the NRLA saying that “councils will struggle to provide the time, focus or resources needed to enforce the bill and tackle the minority of landlords bringing the sector into disrepute”.
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The Renters’ Rights Bill, which promises a raft of rental reforms, is currently in the committee stage in the House of Lords. The bill includes crucial changes for councils, such as measures to tackle dangerous damp and mould in homes, and the development of a new database of private rented housing.
The trade body is calling for the government to publish a full assessment of the resources local authority enforcement teams have and will need to enforce the rental reform proposals in the Renters’ Rights Bill.
It is also asking for councils to be required to publish an annual report on enforcement activity related to the private rented sector (PRS) and to put in place measures to prevent the duplication of efforts between the planned database of private sector landlords and properties and local landlord licensing schemes.
A new national post of chief environmental health officer should also be developed to champion better enforcement.
Ben Beadle (pictured), chief executive of the NRLA, said: “For too long, the vast majority of decent, responsible landlords have been tarnished by the actions of a minority of rogue operators failing to provide good enough housing.
“If planned reforms are to work, councils need to up their game at finding and rooting out those who have no place renting property out and making it easier for the law-abiding majority providing decent and safe homes.”
He continued: “Our report today suggests local authorities will struggle to enforce much of what is in the Renters’ Rights Bill.
“Without further action, the only winners from all this will be the minority of unscrupulous landlords.”
