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Ministers must back our efforts to crack down on rogue landlords
Newham’s landmark borough-wide private landlord licensing scheme can only continue with government approval, says Sir Robin Wales
The impact of the housing crisis has fallen disproportionately on the poorest and most vulnerable individuals and families in our country.
As demand for housing outstrips supply, the rapid growth of the private rented sector combined with a weak and inadequate regulatory framework has left vulnerable people at the mercy of rogue landlords, who rip off, exploit and even endanger their tenants.
“The decision on our scheme will be one of the first tests of Theresa May’s new government’s housing policy.”
The government’s housing strategy has completely failed to recognise the human cost of this crisis – with children and families living in overcrowded and inhumane conditions, the impact includes poor health, reduced educational attainment and economic uncertainty.
In the next few weeks Newham Council will submit an application to government to renew its groundbreaking private rented sector (PRS) licensing scheme for another five years.
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This scheme has put my borough in a unique position. We, unlike so many other local authorities, are able to identify and enforce against those landlords who wilfully fail to follow even basic regulations in the name of profit.
Our original scheme comes to an end in December, and under stricter restrictions imposed by the Tory-led coalition in 2015, the council must now apply for permission from government to continue to protect tenants’ rights over the next five years.
I am calling on the new housing minister Alok Sharma to act decisively to protect tenants living in rental accommodation by supporting our successful approach to regulating the sector.
The decision on our scheme will be one of the first tests of Theresa May’s new government’s housing policy. Ministers must not turn their backs on localism or let vulnerable people down. If Newham’s application is refused, the fate of other local authorities who have followed our lead will also be clear.
The message from Whitehall will be a repetition of the old mantra “regulation: bad; deregulation: good”. The government must listen to the experts who are on the frontline of the housing crisis.
I am incredibly proud that over the past five years Newham Council has made great strides in protecting private tenants. Our enforcement teams have:
- Taken 1,135 prosecutions for housing crimes (70% of all prosecutions in London)
- Banned 28 of the worst landlords from operating in the borough – forcing them to sell up or hand their properties over to reputable managing agents
- Recovered more than £2.6m a year in additional council tax
- Served 2,170 notices to improve housing conditions and management
The last scheme was subsidised by £5m of council funding and a Department for Communities and Local Government grant, but due to our successful model the new scheme will be completely self financing.
The cost of a licence for a home rented by a family would be just £1.53 a week. Only the unscrupulous landlords, the exact people we want to target, would burden their tenants with a rent hike to cover that minimal cost.
“It is now more important than ever that the government allows us to keep tackling housing crimes.”
We have shown in Newham that solutions, based on local knowledge and backed by political will, can be highly effective.
We have made significant progress in finding and tackling criminal landlords, but it is a sad reality that our officers still regularly uncover serious housing crimes including overcrowding, illegal conversions, unsafe wiring, fire safety issues, inadequate heating, damp, pest infestations and bad management.
With almost half of Newham’s residents now renting privately, it is now more important than ever that the government allows us to keep tackling housing crimes.
It would be an entirely wrong and a backward step for tenants’ safety and rights if one of the first acts of the new government was to reduce regulation and deny us the ability to continue with the most effective scheme for tackling criminal landlords in the country.
Sir Robin Wales, mayor of Newham
