Council to get tough on rogue landlords

Rotherham Council wants to do more to protect private tenants by using tougher new laws to clamp down on rogue landlords.

Local landlords who fail to ensure the safety of their tenants could now be prosecuted or face a penalty through the civil courts after councillors voted to do more to address poor housing conditions during a meeting last week.

Under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, new powers were made available to councils to help tackle poor housing conditions and associated issues.

Under the new powers, landlords who fail to ensure the safety of their tenants could face a penalty of up to £30,000 per offence.

Cllr Dominic Beck, Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “These new powers are a welcome addition to the measures we have already been taking to improve the quality of private rented housing in the borough.

“Our existing Selective Licensing Scheme has been successful in driving improvements in the areas it covers - Masbrough, Maltby South East, Dinnington and Eastwood.

“The new measures will strengthen our powers of enforcement across Rotherham - where tenants are being put in danger by a small minority of rogue landlords - and also enable us to impose civil financial penalties on those landlords who seek to avoid their responsibilities.”

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