Council claims anti-social behaviour linked to some rental housing

This old chestnut again. Antisocial behavior is first, foremost and always the responsibility of the ‘ offending individual/s’. It is the responsibility of the police, courts and local authorities to comply with and uphold their responsibilities and actually deal with the problem. ‘Institutionalized buck passing’ their responsibilities onto landlords won’t solve this issue.
Landlords supply housing and in huge measure, good housing. They did not ‘sign up’ to social working, community policing or the border force. Our message to these authorities must be ‘do your jobs’.

• Shane Sutherland
• 13 October 2023 08:49 AM

Well said. Summed it up nicely. 👍

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This is pretty ridiculous. I'm not sure if council officers making these points are stupid or if they just think everyone is stupid and will agree?

Firstly despite hundreds of landlord licensing agreements over the country there's no actual evidence they do anything to improve anything anywhere! That's pretty damning since they've been implementing for over a decade. (Isn't the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?)

Secondly, antisocial behaviour. Landlord licensing does NOTHING to sort antisocial behaviour. In fact in many areas the biggest problem for antisocial behaviour is the private homes the council itself rents (different department) for emergency housing.... and surprise surprise the council's emergency rental department don't have to be licensed (and once they move in the unchecked and incredibly disruptive families, they can't get them out!)

Thirdly "intrinsic link” between poor quality private rented accommodation and deprivation" is arguing the horse should come after the cart because it suits us better! The fact is that deprived areas do have poorer quality private rental homes for a bloody good reason! Why would landlords spend lots of extra money creating a better home than others in an area, only to receive the same rent? They'd be nuts... and since most landlords aren't nuts they'll buy in better areas where there isn't that problem! Inconvenient truth to social warriers!

• Nick Van Hoogstraaten
• 13 October 2023 09:45 AM

They know it's nonsense. It's all about charging money and nothing more. Several councils are going bankrupt. Birmingham waste £18m on cycle lanes which now block up all of the roads and has no bikes on them. Imbeciles the lot of them.

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There is stupidity and then there’s “stupidity with honour”!
”Landlords must be able to demonstrate that they have adequate procedures in place to manage any anti-social behaviour from their tenants and they are aware of their tenants’ rights”
So, we now need to be social workers, police officers and first tier tribunals.
Get off your fat backsides, get into the streets and do your jobs instead of sitting behind a desk making up **** and palming problems back onto responsible landlords.

A no profit scheme, I take it you’re talking about being a private landlord these days!

ASB is mainly linked to council sink estates that's where the real problems are

No mention of social housing, which I presume houses model tenants in good quality housing. I fail to see why landlords who manage housing that was handed over by the council to housing associations should be treated any differently to private portfolio landlords.

• Andrew townshend
• 13 October 2023 10:28 AM

Model tenants in social housing has to be the joke of the week

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Served my apprenticeship in Blackpool and every doghead in society who was on benefits migrated there, if you are a grade 1 crackpot might as well be one at the seaside!!

Can of Carlsberg Super Strength watching the tide come in what could be better. Lifes a bowl of Cherries!

• Andrew townshend
• 13 October 2023 11:29 AM

Sounds just like Gt Yarmouth on the Norfolk coast

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"Landlords must be able to demonstrate that they have adequate procedures in place to manage any anti-social behaviour from their tenants" Blackpool say.

So how are we going to do that if/when Section 21 goes, and is replaces by a supposedly beefed-up Section 8 ground re. ASB; which won't be as effective because it will require others than the landlord to give evidence -who can be intimidated- rather than just the LLD serving a S21 without having to give a reason.
S21 is no reason given, not "no fault".

I did a Freedom of Information request to MLUHC (Gove's dept.) on what evidence do they have on WHY LLDs use Section 21 (evidence which might support the Renters Reform Bill).

They weren't able to answer: it would be too costly for them to find out internally, so they can refuse the FOI request.
I did point out they could just ask the civil servants promoting the Bill on what evidence they had before the White Paper and Bill, but they still refused.
When I have some time, there is one last way to try.

My conclusion from what MLUHC said was: they didn't have any evidence on why LLDs use Section 21; and are just trying to cover this up with bureaucratic rules (not in the spirit of FOI Act).

Obviously, with no evidence they can't justify removal of S21, nor prove Section 21 is "no fault".
That's the poor basis on which laws are made these days. No wonder they are so cxxp and lead to adverse and unintended outcomes.

• Nick Van Hoogstraaten
• 13 October 2023 11:42 AM

It's to win the populist vote. That all. I can't believe either party really thinks all tenants are angels. Labour are egging the Tories on to mess up housing so they can fix it. But they will just go harder and faster too. They stick their heads in the sand when it suits.

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Lets call a spade a spade, what we are talking about is a rough, run down area with low cost, low quality housing. Blackpool has more than it’s fair share of these type of buildings. It also has a lot of single young people who work in minimum wage jobs, that may even be part time and have to claim benefits. These people don’t wish to pay a fortune in rent.
So landlords who own these type of properties have a responsibility to ensure that the properties let are Safe, Dry, and meet the many governmentregulations that are

O

Im an agent in london been one for over 25 years never had a PRS ASB tenant until this year and surprise surprise its a council tenant as I work with the local authority, Most of the selective licensing proposed is in council estate areas because most of the ASB from my experience is those tenants living social housing or very deprived areas. The council have taken 12 months so far to evict this tenant and they are still there despite them attacking the neighbour upstairs and now on a ABH charge and causing damage and racist attacksm on cab drivers all have crime reports nothing has been done by the council. yet they want to licence landlords when they cant get their own house in order.

• Andrew townshend
• 16 October 2023 15:10 PM

This is what we private landlords offer the renter, housing in nice a area, without the ASB low life living next door, worth paying a bit more for isn't it ?

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