Renters face a ‘postcode lottery’ in housing standards enforcement – Claim

Renters across England are grappling with a postcode lottery when asking councils to deal with substandard housing, research reveals.

The New Economics Foundation (NEF) says there’s a critical shortage of enforcement officers, leaving tenants in some regions with little recourse against hazardous living conditions.

The study reveals that, on average, each enforcement officer in England oversees more than 3,300 private rented properties.

However, this figure conceals significant regional variations with Nottingham boasting the highest enforcement capacity, with one officer managing 267 properties.

Charge landlords a database fee

The NEF’s senior economist, Christian Jaccarini, said: “Too many renters are stuck in damp, dangerous and insecure homes, while rogue landlords go unchallenged and enforcement teams are stretched to breaking point.

“The good news is that we can change this. For less than the cost of a meal out for two each year, charging fees to sign up to a landlord registry could finally end the postcode lottery in enforcement and make decent housing a right.”

She added: “Councils, tenants, and even landlords agree we need a landlord registry that holds bad actors to account and gives responsible landlords the credit they deserve.”

Councils struggle to enforce

NEF says that Huntingdonshire is among those authorities facing an overwhelming ratio of nearly 25,000 properties per officer, rendering enforcement efforts in such areas largely ineffective.

This gap leaves tenants in poorly resourced regions vulnerable to health risks from unsafe housing.

The findings come as the government prepares to introduce a landlord registry through the Renters’ Rights Bill.

However, the NEF warns that without additional resources, this initiative risks becoming an administrative burden for already overstretched local authority staff.

Landlord fee to boost council staff numbers

Its study proposes an annual landlord registration fee of £46 which could fund a big increase in enforcement officers, ensuring no officer manages more than 1,000 properties.

This would triple staffing levels on average, with a negligible impact on landlord profits, reducing yields by less than 0.03 percentage points, even in lower-rent areas.

NEF goes on to say that the proposed landlord registry has garnered widespread support.

It found that tenants, landlords and local authority representatives view the database as a vital opportunity to improve the private rented sector.

Tenants and council representatives believe it could usher in much-needed regulation, while over half of landlords also support stronger oversight, the NEF claims.

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