The consumer charity Citizens Advice is the latest body to say the government’s heavily-publicised £5m given to councils to tackle rogue landlords is simply not enough.
The £5m, announced last week, has already been criticised by the Residential Landlords’ Association as insufficient.
Now Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says “£5m alone will not solve the problem."
Guy claims her charity has evidence that 700,000 private renters are living in what she calls “unsafe homes” with hazards like exposed wiring, leaking roofs and rat infestations.
“It’s good the government has recognised the problem of rogue landlords and will help councils clamp down on them, but £5 million alone will not solve the problem. Stronger rights and legal protections for renters are long overdue” she says.
“Plans in the Housing Bill to give tenants the right to refunds are encouraging – but MPs must make sure renters don't have to navigate complex legal processes to get a fair outcome. We also want to see the Bill give more open access to local council’s banned landlord list, to help tenants avoid unscrupulous landlords."
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