Due to the high demand for private rented accommodation the amount of rogue landlords across the UK has increased over the past year, with many now offering what has been named ‘beds in sheds’. This is where ‘landlords’ offer tenants rooms in sheds at the end of gardens, which are generally of appalling standards, however as some people have nowhere else to go they have little choice but to stay where they are.
In order to combat rogue landlords Newham Council introduced mandatory landlord registration as of January 1st, and now Mayor Sir Robin Wales has said that he feels this change should be applied to landlords throughout the whole of the UK. Currently, there are voluntary landlord accreditation schemes that landlords can join in order to prove that all their properties are of a good standard; however Mayor Wales said that when this was in place only 5 per cent of the private landlords in his constituency took part. Now, over 75 per cent of private landlords have signed up for mandatory regulation in the area, showing that many are compliant with the new rules.
Discussing the mandatory registration scheme before a Commons select committee last week, Mayor Sire Robin Wales said: “We want to work with good landlords, they have nothing to fear. It’s the bad ones, the criminal landlords, that we’re after. We will never accept private sector tenants being directly exploited by landlords who force them to live in dangerous and unacceptable conditions. One bad house can drag down a whole street. All the evidence – and we have tried it extensively – is voluntary accreditation simply doesn’t work.”
Since mandatory registration for private sector landlords came into effect in January, Newham’s enforcement team have managed to investigate over six hundred cases of ‘beds in sheds’, five hundred of which are now closed. Mandatory regulation is also supported by landlords who provide good quality homes and services, as it could mean that costs go down such as landlord insurance as there is less risk in the sector. Kay Boycott, director of communications, policy and campaigns at the housing charity Shelter, has also supported the new scheme.
She said: “With a chronic shortage of social housing and more and more people being priced out of the housing market, renting is fast becoming the only option for thousands more Londoners. Our advice service for tenants in Newham sees people every day who are suffering at the hands of rogue landlords who are ignoring their responsibilities and wreaking havoc on tenants’ lives. We urge other local councils to follow Newham’s lead in sending a clear signal that enforcing the law against rogue landlords is a priority.”