Member Article

£4m fund for councils to tackle rogue landlords – but North East doesn’t get a penny

A leading lettings agent has welcomed government plans to give councils cash to tackle rogue landlords – despite the fact that the North East won’t see a penny.

Housing Minister Kris Hopkins MP recently unveiled a £4m cash boost for 23 local authorities – including Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham – to take on landlords who ruin tenants lives by renting them dangerous, dirty and overcrowded properties.

No councils in the North East were offered the money.

The housing minister also announced

• New legislation enabling courts to take landlords’ assets into account when levying fines for housing offences.
• That all letting agents will have to join a redress schemes for lettings and property management – giving tenants somewhere to turn if they don’t get the service they deserve
• The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors will help develop a voluntary code of property management practice.

Ajay Jagota of North East property business KIS Lettings, who manage more than 700 properties from branches in Sunderland, South Shields, North Shields and Welwyn Garden City, believes the proposals give rented housing the opportunity to prove that new regulations are not necessary.

KIS Lettings were recently named Letting Agent of the Year at the National Landlord and Letting Awards.

Ajay said:

“More than enough rules and regulations exist to protect renters and landlords alike – more than 50 Acts of Parliament alone - the real problem is so often there is no-one to enforce them, so new laws would be unlikely to help – and as bodies like ARLA have proven in the past, regulators aren’t necessarily a silver bullet either.

“If you’re determined to rent out a filthy, unsafe property then paperwork won’t stop you. If you’re a landlord who wouldn’t dream of it, unnecessary red tape and being tarred with the same brush as the corrupt and criminal won’t help either. Giving the authorities the resources to implement the rules we have seems a sensible and workable way forward.

“Much as I would like to see it as a vote of confidence in the North East’s landlords – and it would be completely deserved in all but a handful of cases if it was - it is very disappointing to see every single council in the region ignored and overlooked.

“We deserve the same opportunities as everyone else and responsible agents like KIS, who are committed to clear, up-front fees and providing tenants with a world class service, would welcome any effective measure to takes the rental rogues who shame our industry and make tenants’ lives a misery off our streets”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ajay Jagota .