Measures to improve overcrowded and dangerous living conditions
of private tenants in shared homes were laid before Parliament
today by Housing Minister .
Councils are being given tough new powers to tackle the small
minority of rogue landlords who rent out overcrowded properties
and impose fines of up to £30,000 for those landlords who do not
comply.
From October councils will be able to set minimum bedroom size
standards and also introduce limits on how many people can live
in each bedroom of a licenced multiple occupancy home. Councils
will be able to use national minimum standards or apply even
tougher requirements in order to address specific local needs.
This move will help ensure tenants have the space they need and
deserve as well as reduce health and safety risks they face by
sharing cooking and washing facilities with too many people.
The new standards will apply to all landlords seeking new
licences. Landlords of existing properties will be given up to 18
months to make necessary changes when re-applying for a licence
when it expires.
In a move to stop rubbish piling up outside some shared rented
homes, often presenting health risks and blighting
neighbourhoods, landlords will also be required to provide
adequate waste storage facilities in line with their local
authority’s rules. If they fail to do so they could face a fine.
These latest measures build on wider government action to drive
up standards in the private rented sector by tackling bad
landlords. This includes the launch of a new database of rogue
landlords and introduction of banning orders for the worst
offenders coming into force next month.
Housing Minister said:
“Everyone deserves a decent and safe place to live. But some
tenants are being exploited by a minority of unscrupulous
landlords who profit from renting out cramped and sometimes
squalid or dangerous properties.
“Today’s measures will mean landlords must provide adequate space
for their tenants or face a hefty fine. It is part of a raft of
new powers for councils to crack down on rogue landlords and
comprehensive action we are taking to improve conditions for
private tenants.”
Last month new legislation was introduced requiring more
landlords to obtain a licence from their council. Landlords of
one and two-storey multiple occupancy properties will be brought
within scope of mandatory licensing requirements across England,
affecting roughly 160,000 additional properties.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Minimum space requirements
- · Rooms
used for sleeping by 1 person over 10 will have to be no smaller
than 6.51 square metres, and those slept in by 2 people over 10
will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres. Rooms slept
in by children of 10 years and younger will have to be no smaller
than 4.64 square metres.
- · The
licence must specify the maximum number of persons (if any) who
may occupy any room and the total number across the different
rooms must be the same as the number of persons for whom the
property is suitable to live in.
Extended scope of mandatory HMO licensing
-
· National
mandatory licensing currently only applies to houses in multiple
occupation that have 3 or more storeys and occupied by five or
more people. It is being extended to cover one/two storey houses
in multiple occupation which are occupied by five or more people.
Waste Storage
- · The
Government has re-affirmed the need for councils to provide
comprehensive and frequent household waste collections which are
free at the point of use. Councils should not seek to impose
backdoor waste charging of residential properties, including
houses in multiple occupation.
Banning orders and landlord database
A small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out
unsafe and substandard accommodation.
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of measures
to tackle rogue landlords:
- · civil
penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution –
came into force April 2017
-
· extension
of Rent Repayment Orders to cover illegal eviction, breach of a
banning order or failure to comply with a statutory notice – came
into force April 2017
-
· banning
orders for the most serious offenders – to be implemented in
April 2018
- · a
database of rogue landlords/letting property agents convicted of
certain offences – to be implemented in April 2018
