COUNCIL chiefs are set to consider a crackdown on rogue landlords in the city with fines of up to £30,000 being discussed.
Following the introduction of new enforcement powers under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, Worcester City Council hope the new charges will curb the activities of such landlords.
Councillors were set to vote on whether to introduce the charges at the first meeting of the new Communities Committee meeting last night.
If agreed, the fines could be issued to landlords who have breached health and safety law by failing to comply with an Improvement Notice or failed to obtain a licence to run a House in Multiple Occupation which are common with the city’s students.
Failure to comply with management regulations about how they should be run, such as maintaining fire alarms and extinguishers, would also incur a fine under the new system.
“We want to support good landlords who provide decent, well-maintained homes,” said Coun Mike Johnson, chairman of the Communities Committee.
“However if introduced, these new powers would strengthen our hand to crack down on rogue landlords who knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation and care little about the standards of service they offer to tenants.”
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 also gives tenants the right to go to a tribunal to force their landlord to repay some of their rent in certain circumstances.
This could be when a landlord fails to comply with a Prohibition Order meaning the property or part of it cannot be occupied because the building condition presents a serious safety risk to residents or where a landlord has harassed tenants or used violence to secure entry to a property.
The act will see a database of rogue landlords and property letting agents set up in England and introduces tighter regulation to ensure a qualified person has checked electrical safety standards in all private rented properties.
“The number of people living in rented accommodation in Worcester has risen significantly in recent years – it is therefore essential the council has increased powers to step in and act swiftly,” said Coun Lynn Denham, vice chair of the Communities Committee.
Under the terms of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, any income from civil penalties can be retained by councils and used to support their enforcement activities covering the private rented housing sector.
Should they be approved, the new fines are scheduled to come into force in October.
