Councils want more penalties for rogue landlords

Local authorities say they want tougher fines and a quicker, harsher prosecution system “to tackle rogue landlords who are putting tenants' lives at risk.”

The Local Government Association, which represents almost 400 councils in England and Wales, says it accepts that most landlords are reputable but claims a criminal minority view fines as ‘operating costs' to be offset against their profits from exploiting tenants by renting sub-standard properties.

The LGA says councils are doing everything they can to tackle rogue operators, but are hamstrung by a system "not fit for the 21st century".

LGA research finds it can take up to 16 months to prosecute a rogue operator. In almost three-quarters of cases, the average fine for a criminal landlord was £5,000 or less.

One landlord received a fine of £100 in a case where six tenants were left living in a property for a year without fire alarms or proper escape routes. In another example, the property did not have secured front doors and tenants discovered strangers sleeping on their sofas.

The LGA has also uncovered evidence that some landlords are not turning up to property inspections by councils, thus creating delays and additional costs because the council is forced to apply for warrants.

The Association says fines are far too inconsistent, with no correlation between housing conditions or the number of tenants involved.

Councillor Mike Jones, chairman of the LGA Environment and Housing Board, says the country needs “a system which protects the good landlords, whose reputation is being dragged down by the bad ones” which he says are now “a growing minority.”