[A]llerdale Borough Council is asking local people and organisations to have their say on its draft Housing Enforcement Policy and Private Sector Housing Civil Penalties Policy. It is particularly interested in hearing from those living in private rental accommodation and landlords.
The Council has a statutory duty to deal with poor housing conditions. These new policies have been devised to incorporate changes to legislation in recent years which have granted the Council more powers to ensure rental accommodation within the area is healthy, well-managed and safe for tenants. The new policies will mean the Council can take a more proactive approach to dealing with landlords whose properties are not up to scratch.
The draft policies can be viewed via the link on the Council’s website at www.allerdale.gov.uk/consultation and people have until the end of the month to have their say. The Council is also holding a consultation event to give landlords and lettings agents the opportunity to let their views be known. This will be held at 6pm pm Thursday 15 March 2018 in the Council Chamber, Allerdale House, Workington, CA14 3YJ.
Carni McCarron-Holmes, Executive Member with responsibility for housing said: “No-one should have to live in a house which is bad for their health or dangerous. Thankfully we have some very good landlords in this area. However, I urge everyone to have their say in this consultation on these draft policies so that we can get the right measures in place to deal with the ones who don’t take their responsibilities seriously.”
The Council will continue to work with landlords and offer advice to ensure that their properties are safe and in a good condition. It would always prefer not to take any enforcement action against a landlord.
However, if agreed, the new policies will give the Council’s housing officers new powers. These include:
- Introducing civil penalties of up to £30,000 for any landlord who fails to comply with an improvement Notice issued by the Council for a defect in a property, as well as for any offences relating to overcrowding
- Use of rent repayment orders if the Council is successful in imposing a civil penalty. These orders can require a landlord to repay rent back to the tenant or, in the case of rent through benefits, to the local authority.
- Use of banning orders to prevent a person from letting a house in England or working in an English letting agency or property management company. Anyone with a banning order imposed on them will be entered onto a “rogue landlords” database from April 2018.
- Requirement for anyone working in property management to be part of a scheme allowing tenants to complain and if required seek redress from the landlord. Any landlord who fails to comply could face a fine of up to £5,000.
- New powers to prevent housing with poor energy efficiency ratings being rented out as well as the requirement to improve safety through the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to £5,000.
Studies have shown that somewhere between 11% and 16% of the current housing stock in the borough is rented through private landlords. Precise figures are hard to ascertain as private sector landlords are currently not required to register with the Council.
The Council’s own Housing Stock Condition Survey carried out in 2016 indicated that some 21% of private rented accommodation suffered from what is known as a Category One Hazard which can include things like inadequate heating or unsafe stairs. Particular areas of concern were in Keswick and north Allerdale.
