Over 300 Councillors in 40 boroughs are Landlords!
More than 1 in 7 Councillors in the boroughs with the highest levels of privately rented homes are landlords themselves.
This is more than ironic considering the attitude local authorities have to the PRS and landlords with many stories of councils telling tenants not to move out until they are physically evicted regardless of the costs and stress caused.
The figures were obtained by the Guardian in a freedom of information request. Click here to see their full article
Apparently these local councils deny that this could cause any conflict of interest with regards to decisions on selective licencing.
According to the figures, 39% of councillors in Torbay own rental properties and one has earned over £63,000 from housing benefit payments in the last two years.
This is not just a Tory demographic with 26 out of 99 councillors in Labour controlled Leeds owning Multiple properties in the city.
However, John Healey, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing , told the Guardian: “The biggest roadblock to getting landlord licensing schemes up and running is Conservative ministers, who have changed the rules to require government say so for new schemes and are now blocking Labour councils from tackling bad landlords.”
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Landlord Reactions To The 2017 Autumn Budget
Member Since January 2011 - Comments: 12205 - Articles: 1400
9:47 AM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
Councils who introduce Selective Licensing spend most of the funds they collect processing the payments. What little they have left they use to prosecute unlicensed landlords. All they are achieving is ‘jobs for the boys’ and misery for landlords and tenants who shoulder the costs of the inefficiencies of the Councils.
Member Since January 2016 - Comments: 24
10:05 AM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
Furthermore the council houses let out by the councils are often in poor condition with damp, poor heating old delapidated kitchens,bathrooms and decore as was admitted by a politician on TV recently but of course they can’t prosecute themselves. How convenient!
Member Since March 2015 - Comments: 1969 - Articles: 1
10:38 AM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
Inaccurate reporting…John Healey is the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing. Melanie Onn and Tony Lloyd are the Shadow Housing Ministers.
Member Since January 2016 - Comments: 236
10:41 AM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
Reply to the comment left by John Mcgowan at 22/11/2017 – 10:05
Hence selective licencing – they only “select” private landlords. Disgraceful !!
Member Since February 2011 - Comments: 3453 - Articles: 286
10:45 AM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 22/11/2017 – 10:38
Correct a mundo and error rectified thank you 🙂
Member Since March 2015 - Comments: 1969 - Articles: 1
11:38 AM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
My comment was directed toward The Guardian’s Tom Wall/Robert Booth and not you, Neil 🙂
Member Since April 2014 - Comments: 985 - Articles: 2
1:22 PM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
I wonder how many of these Council/Gov’t landlords have mortgages?
Member Since September 2015 - Comments: 237 - Articles: 4
4:12 PM, 22nd November 2017, About 8 years ago
Well some I know do realise what’s going on and hate what is happening, but other councillors hate landlords and are happy for it to continue. Sadly, the Guardian (and most others) imagine too much power is in the hands of local councillors who cannot change the law and cannot direct local authority employees to operate outside of legislative requirements. The whole idea that councillors who are landlords can control and direct the main issues shows a woeful misunderstanding of how local authorities operate – which, coming from the Guardian, doesn’t surprise me!