Rogue landlords in North Yorkshire could face £30k fines
The Council is considering adopting the first county-wide housing standards enforcement policy
A local authority which has seen a a significant increase in the number of its residents renting private properties is set to arm itself with the power to fine rogue landlords up to £30,000.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive will on Tuesday (August 20) consider adopting the first county-wide housing standards enforcement policy amid concerns an increasing number of properties are putting the health and wellbeing of tenants at risk.
At present some housing enforcement functions cannot be delivered in all areas of the council as they were not previously adopted by the previous borough and districts.
In December the Government’s English Housing Survey reported that 15 per cent of dwellings nationwide failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard, while eight per cent were found to have hazards where tenants risked serious injury or death.
It found the proportion of private rented homes with a damp problem had risen from seven to nine per cent since before the Covid pandemic.
The move in North Yorkshire follows the number of private rented households in the county rising by almost 8,100 to 51,149 in the decade to 2021 and studies finding more than half of those properties were at least 95 years old.
A ‘State of the Nation’ report, procured by the council earlier this year identified some 38 areas in the county with higher-than-average levels of private rented accommodation, deprivation and poor health.
It also follows the council launching a crackdown on rogue landlords last year after securing a £1.4m Government grant, in which it recruited nine extra enforcement officers.
Responding to the council’s move, one landlord said “the more they persecute landlords the more I can increase my rents. I used to care about my tenants but now that care has been edited out by goverment regulations and red tape.”
Nevertheless, the council’s executive member for housing, Councillor Simon Myers, said improving and increasing enforcement activity through inspections and joint working with partners would help to ensure that residents were safe.
An officer’s report to the executive states the council is considering whether to introduced ‘selective licensing’, which requires all landlords of privately rented properties to obtain a licence and be inspected during the five-year licence period, into areas other than Scarborough, where it has already been introduced.
The report added the the policy would allow the council to use approaches ranging from advice to enforcement, depending on factors such as the severity of hazards and history or poor management practices.
The enforcement policy will create a small amount of income for the council and also allows for the use of financial penalties of up to £30,000 as a means of penalty and deterrent against non-compliant landlords, lettings agents and property managers.
Fines under the policy include up to £5,000 for letting agents and property managers for not belonging to an approved redress scheme.
The policy states: “It is our view that the requirement to belong to a redress scheme does not place an excessive burden on letting agents and property managers.”
The policy adds landlords who do not comply with electrical safety regularions can be fined up to £30,000 and that all costs for remedial action will be recovered by the council.