METRO: Is government doing enough to police private landlords?

Journalist: Sarah Davidson, Freelance

ended 18. July 2022

Writing a piece on increasingly tough BTL regs and licensing for landlords - but how likely are councils to check private landlords are actually complying? 
Will Gove’s latest proposals - even with scrapping section 21 and bringing in minimum living standards - make any difference if councils fail to check compliance? 
What’s the solution to protect renters then?

All comments welcome. Short and sweet please as I don’t have a lot of space. 
 

DEADLINE - 11am TODAY - absolute latest. 
 

cheers. 

4 responses from the Newspage community

Legend
Lewis Shaw
Founder & Mortgage Expert at Shaw Financial Services
Local authorities are already stretched beyond breaking point due to over a decade of Tory austerity and budget cuts; to think they have the resources needed to keep rogue landlords on the straight and narrow is for the birds. We need harsher punishments for those caught; property below EPC D, £50,000 on-the-spot fine. They are not meeting fire regs, mandatory six months at Her Majesty’s pleasure. If Local Authorities don’t have the resources, the only way to try and protect renters is to make the punishments so harsh landlords up their game for fear of being caught.
Legend
Scott Taylor-Barr
Financial Adviser at Carl Summers Financial Services
I think this is the problem we are seeing in a lot of areas of life at the moment; it's no good just creating a rule, or a law if there is then not adequate resource given to educating people of it and enforcing it.
Premium
Jonathan Burridge
Founding Adviser at We Are Money
If the cost of not complying is sufficiently high I am sure cash-strapped local authorities will see the opportunity for much needed revenue under the guise of housing equality.
Premium
Robert Payne
Director at Langley House Mortgages
Councils are unlikely to be checking regulations are being followed in every rental but if there is a problem, such as an attempted eviction or a complaint made by the tenant, then I expect there would be consequences if the correct rules and procedures had not been followed. It is no surprise that many landlords are withdrawing from the market and re-investing their money, as it has become increasingly difficult to make a profit whilst complying with regulation. The aim of the regulation was to protect tenants but it actually damages the rental market as supply has dropped significantly.