WIREDGOV

Councils will receive an extra £41 million to help them enforce new rules coming in under the Renters’ Rights Act, it has been revealed this week.

Added to an £18m pot which was pledged to councils last year, local authorities will now be given a share of £60m to tackle rogue landlords.

The figure works out at an average of  £189,000 per council, although the amount will fluctuate according to the size of the private rented sector (PRS) in each  area.

Under the Act, authorities will have more scope to tackle rogue landlords, with fines of up to £40,000 for failure to meet the new standards.

The new powers coming in from 1st May will place a statutory duty on local authorities to enforce landlord legislation in terms of offences related to:

• Harassment and illegal eviction
• Accepting or encouraging rental bidding above the listed price
• Discrimination against tenants with children or in receipt of benefits
• The landlord redress scheme

The landlord database also covers enforcement of assured tenancy legislation including:

• Failure to provide  a written statement of the assured tenancy agreement
• Reletting a property within the ‘restricted period’ (the 12 months after a notice using Ground 1 or Ground 1a expired)
• Failure to  end a tenancy in the correct way
• Offering a fixed term assured tenancy

As this is a statutory duty, local authorities who don’t enforce this legislation will be in breach of the law.

For more on the powers granted to local authorities because of the Renters’ Rights Act, click here

The Enforcement Challenge

According to our recent research, many local authorities are struggling to collect fines owed to them by rogue landlords; cash that could be used to help fund future enforcement work.

We made a call on the Government for a major increase in upfront funding for council enforcement teams after the data showed that just £7.5million of a potential £30m was collected over the last two years.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle has welcomed the announcement. He yesterday said:

"Rogue landlords have no place in the PRS and every effort should be made by local authorities to drive them from the market.”

“This announcement demonstrates that the Government is serious about tackling those who bring the sector into disrepute and supporting those responsible landlords who provide decent and secure homes for renters.”

Following concerns over the ability of the courts to cope with the predicted influx of cases post Renters’ Rights, a further £50m has been pledged to modernise the court structure to ensure swifter outcomes for landlords and tenants.

More information

Our award-winning academy provides courses on all aspects of the Renters’ Rights Act, including enforcement.

There have been a series of webinars about the new enforcement legislation – click here to read some of your most frequently asked questions.

We have also created a Renters’ Rights Hub which answers any questions you have about the Act, which becomes active on 1st May.