Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen local authority powers to deal with rogue landlords.

The Government is determined to crack down on rogue landlords. Local authorities already have strong powers under the Housing Act 2004 to require that landlords make necessary improvements to a property. Where a property contains potentially serious risks to the health and safety of the occupants, the local authority must take enforcement action.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of further measures to strengthen local authority powers to tackle rogue landlords and drive up standards. In April 2017 we introduced civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution and extended Rent Repayment Orders, which require a landlord to repay a specified amount of rent to a local authority and/or tenant, to cover illegal eviction and failure to comply with a statutory notice. We intend to introduce a system of banning the most serious and prolific offenders from renting properties as well as a database of rogue landlords and lettings agents convicted of certain offences in April 2018.

These new powers will give local authorities the tools they need to crack down on the minority of landlords who disregard the law and take advantage of tenants in the private rented sector.