Taxpayer cash protected as crackdown on rogue landlords expands

• Around 400,000 households receiving housing support to be better protected from rogue landlords thanks to an expanded crackdown scheme.
• After a successful trial, 41 local authorities across England will now be empowered to better protect their local communities against non-compliance.
• Comes as local authorities will be able to recover up to 24 months of rent from landlords who flout the rules – double the previous limit thanks to the Renters' Right Act.

The scheme – successfully trialled in three council areas – protects public money by stopping it being wasted on unsafe housing through Rent Repayment Orders.

These legal orders clamp down on landlords who operate properties without the required licence, ignore improvement notices, or leave their houses in mouldy, dire conditions, and will now be expanded to a further 38 local authorities in England – helping to drive up living standards across the country. The scheme gives councils streamlined access to Universal Credit data which is crucial for completing Rent Repayment Order applications.

One of the trial areas – Camden, North London – is using the data sharing to recover nearly £100,000 in housing support and make a fraud referral, taking taxpayer cash out of the pockets of rogue landlords and back into the public purse.

Following successful results, the scheme – led by the Department for Work and Pensions and supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – is now being expanded. This includes areas such as Enfield, where nearly 30,000 households receiving housing support are set to be better protected for the future.

This comes alongside expanded provisions under the Renters' Rights Act allowing local authorities to seek Rent Repayment Orders for up to 24 months of rent - double the previous 12-month limit.

Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms said:

Thanks to this pilot, private renters in receipt of housing support will have stronger protections against landlords who fail to meet public standards.

No one should live in unsafe or unsuitable housing. We are giving local authorities the tools they need to deter bad housing practice, and ensuring better value for money by upholding safe standards.

Councillor Richard Olszewksi, Leader of Camden Council, said:

Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. With more than a third of households in Camden privately renting, it's vital that we ensure landlords are meeting important safety and management standards for residents.

This pilot helps us take further action against rogue landlords and regain the public money they wrongly pocketed. We're investing this into more enforcement action and improving private sector housing conditions for everyone across the borough.

Living in a decent, safe home is fundamental to health and work, and vulnerable renters who live in unsuitable accommodation are limited in their ability to take on work.

Enforcing better standards will drive up living standards through incentivising better practice in the future, as well as protecting taxpayer cash.

Justice for Tenants said:

This pilot has shown that we can deter criminality in the private rented sector and help fund housing enforcement services by making those who break the law shoulder more of the cost.

This pilot is a massive win for all law-abiding landlords, tenants receiving public funds, the NHS, and every taxpayer in the country.

Additional Information:

The 38 further areas set to benefit from the expansion in our scheme include:

• London: Barnet, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF), Waltham Forest, Havering, Lewisham, Tower Hamlets, Enfield.
• North West: Wigan, Sefton.
• Yorkshire & The Humber: Leeds, Rotherham, North Lincolnshire, Calderdale.
• East Midlands: Gedling, Nottingham City, Erewash.
• North East: County Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Gateshead, Northumberland, Darlington.
• South West: Plymouth, Gloucester, Bristol.
• South East: Horsham, Portsmouth, Oxford City.
• East of England: King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Colchester, Dacorum, Peterborough, East Suffolk.
• West Midlands: Shropshire, Telford, Bromsgrove and Redditch, Coventry.