Labour MP calls for seizing properties from criminal landlords to tackle housing crisis
2 years ago | 32 comments
City unveils taskforce to crack down on criminal landlords
12:05 AM, 5th December 2023, 2 years ago
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A new initiative to combat criminal landlords who exploit vulnerable tenants and engage in criminal activities has been unveiled by one city council after it received £2 million from the Department for Levelling Up.
Councillors on Liverpool City Council say its Private Sector Housing Intelligence and Enforcement Task Force will disrupt those landlords who work with gangmasters, sex workers and drug dealers.
The council has now recruited a dedicated team to tackle the most complex cases, where tenants are often afraid to report crimes for fear of reprisals.
The taskforce is separate from the council’s Landlord Licensing scheme, which covers around 70% of the privately rented housing sector in the city.
‘Tackling criminal rogue landlords’
Cllr Sarah Doyle, the cabinet member for housing, said: “This taskforce is about tackling criminal rogue landlords who do not care about their tenants, nor our city.
“They are exploiting tenants for their own financial gain, taking advantage of extremely vulnerable people who are afraid to speak out because they are terrified of the consequences.
“Due to the nature of the issues we are dealing with, drawing up evidence is extremely time consuming and complicated, which is why we have secured funding for a dedicated team to work specifically on this.”
She added: “This is a key part of our commitment to improving our neighbourhoods and making them better places to live for our residents.
“We all want the best for the city, and by working closely with partner organisations we can and will make a real difference to vulnerable people and help drive rogue landlords out of Liverpool.”
Drive criminal landlords out of the market
The team will adopt an enforcement strategy based on gathering intelligence to drive criminal landlords out of the market and work with neighbouring authorities since many landlords have properties in more than one area.
The new team will also work with Trading Standards, Children’s Services and Merseyside police, to share information and take action where appropriate.
The taskforce is part of the council’s new Neighbourhood Model of working, which aims to work more closely with other organisations to improve services.
The scheme is also focused on tackling fire and electrical safety hazards, excess cold and damp, and preventing and tackling anti-social behaviour.
Tags:
crime, Criminal Landlords, Department for Levelling Up, exploitation, Housing, liverpool, Rogue landlords, tenants
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Member Since November 2013 - Comments: 65
10:39 AM, 5th December 2023, About 2 years ago
So, despite recognition of the problem (by people who are actively involved, and therefore quite knowledgeable):
“Due to the nature of the issues we are dealing with, drawing up evidence is extremely time consuming and complicated, which is why we have secured funding for a dedicated team to work specifically on this.”
the government continue to claim that S8 reforms will enable (all?) LL to cope with anti-social tenants….
Member Since January 2016 - Comments: 235
1:35 PM, 5th December 2023, About 2 years ago
As I posted elsewhere yesterday on this.
Welcome to the mad mad world of local government where there are no internal connections.
1. Create a punitive, cash grabbing licensing scheme across most of the PRS in the City thus driving yet more decent landlords out of the sector.
2. This huge void is then filled by criminal landlords who laugh at the authorities. They thrive and make vast amounts of cash as desperate tenants have nowhere else to go.
3. The council then setup another pointless department filled with useless civil servants who will expend huge amounts of time and expense uncovering a couple of token criminals who will be taken to court. This will be splashed across the local rags in a blaze of glory and they will consider a job well done.
4. In the meantime the PRS goes into further meltdown and yet more criminals fill the void as they smell all that easy cash.
The above is the classic left hand / right hand issue that infects government in this country. Incompetent doesn’t even come close to describing it.
The most effective way of removing the criminals is to allow market forces to play their part. Remove all the burdensome red tape and taxation from the sector, and leave sufficient light touch regulation in place (gas safeties etc). Give tenants a choice and they will choose decent houses provided by decent landlords. It’s not rocket science!