The Government have confirmed that new measures to crack down on rogue landlords will come into force on 6 April.
The new measures to be implemented under the Housing and Planning Act include powers to prosecute and impose significant fines or issue civil notices with penalties of up to £30,000. The new measures effectively mean that income raised from these penalties will be ring-fenced for further enforcement activity.
David Cox, ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive commented:
“We have long called for greater enforcement activity to end poor housing provision. While we’re pleased that the government have been persuaded by our arguments, the responsibility now falls to local authorities to actively use the tools at their disposal to raise standards.
Local Authorities will also be able to receive details from deposit protection schemes to build a picture of the rental market in their area. We hope this will reduce the number of local authority licensing schemes which are seen by many as having been brought in to try to map the private rented sector within their locality.”