A report published by the Local Government Information Unit and the Electrical Safety Council has called for local councils to be given greater powers to license and fine landlords in the private sector. The report’s authors believe that this will help to improve the quality of housing in the private sector.
Councils Have Too Little Power
178 councils were interviewed as part of the survey and more than 80% of them were keen to become more involved in the private rented sector. The main things councils said they would like were:
- Better access to data telling them where individual private rented properties were located
- The power to introduce compulsory landlord accreditation schemes
- The power to take back Housing Benefit from landlords found to be letting sub-standard properties
Poor Electrical Safety
Another problem highlighted by the report was the issue of poor electrical safety in many homes in the buy to let rental sector. More than half of all house fires are as a result of electrical problems. Unfortunately, because there is no legal requirement for private landlords to have electrics checked or to give tenants a safety certificate, many bad landlords are putting their tenants’ lives at risk.
Councils Must Play a Bigger Role
The Chief Executive of the Local Government Information Unit and the Electrical Safety Council says local councils need to play a greater role if standards are to be improved in the private rental sector and criminal landlords driven out. Unfortunately, as things stand, local councils have very little authority to intervene.
