/MichaelGove-400x310.jpg)
Rogue landlords who exploit the supported housing system at the expense of vulnerable residents could be banned from operating or fined up to £30,000 as enforcement is stepped up across the country.
A statement from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says that a £20m fund will support councils to crack down on landlords who profit through benefit claims but fail to support their vulnerable residents.
This is aimed mostly at large-scale landlords owning substantial and multiple HMOs specifically providing accommodation for people requiring care, support, or supervision as a result of homelessness, mental health issues or domestic abuse.
Poor performing landlords will need to improve and provide better accommodation and support or face enforcement action, including penalty charge notices of up to £30,000, prohibition orders on the most dangerous properties or even prosecution.
The funding will enable councils to step up inspection of accommodation standards and provide enhanced scrutiny of Housing Benefit claims to ensure they are reasonable. It will also improve local enforcement of the quality of accommodation and support to residents including supervision, advice, or help with life skills, to help tenants live independently in the community.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove says: “Time’s up for rogue landlords who take money from the taxpayer while exploiting vulnerable people. We are stepping in to help councils crack down on this appalling activity and I will be working closely with Bob Blackman MP on his Private Members’ Bill to deliver tough new laws to end this practice once and for all.”
The announcement comes ahead of the second reading of Bob Blackman’s Private Members Bill on November 18 which seeks to address poor-quality supported housing.
The Supported Housing Improvement Programme fund follows pilots in Birmingham, Blackburn, Darwen, Blackpool and Hull councils which helped them carry out over 1,000 property inspections of supported housing.
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
What a waste of taxpayers' money!
There are already plenty of mechanisms to deal with rogue landlords but it's easier to attack the majority of decent landlords - and rogue tenants get off scot free!
Surely this comes under the ''care'' system rather than private landlords, I would never rent to a vulnerable tenant I'm not a ''carer''
As I understand it there are certain housing providers who get paid more that the LHA rate for supposedly supporting the residents who are more vulnerable than the average. It is about time the poor ones of these were inspected and held to account as they are giving regular decent landlords a bad name by association.
Supported housing eh. A simplistic way of dealing with all the housing needs that sit in the "too difficult to deal with" tray. Largely unregulated by design and huge amounts of taxpayers money thrown at it. Unsurprisingly it's attracted the "wrong" sort of landlord who quite frankly doesn't give a damn for safety, comfort and all the other stuff that regulated landlords (the rest of us) have to comply with.
Read up on this - is a total scandal that's happened in the background fully supported and financed by our ruling class
They've basically created a criminal housing class and it's just now dawning on them! Class A morons.
So no, Gove and Co - you have deliberately created this mess and now you're throwing yet more taxpayers money at trying to paper over the cracks
Please login to comment