Landlords who allow homes to get mouldy or cold could face sanctions
Landlords who allow rented homes to get mouldy or too cold could face sanctions in new crackdown
- Sensors to be used in rental homes to check that they are not too cold or mouldy
- New trial scheme in Greenwich, London aims to crack down on dodgy landlords
- The sensor data will be used to ensure that landlords then act to fix the problem
Renters homes will be checked to make sure they are not cold or mouldy in a crackdown on dodgy landlords.
In a pilot scheme, councils will install new wireless technology sensors to test temperatures and humidity levels to ensure tenants are warm over winter.
The government project aims to identify ‘particularly cold homes’ and enforcement officers will place the devices in flats or houses where renters have reported problems.
Data gathered by the sensors will be used to ensure that landlords act to fix the problem or to take further action against them. The government project aims to identify ‘particularly cold homes’ [File photo]
The sensors will then raise the alarm when the temperature gets too low or humidity reaches levels which can cause damp or mould in the trial being carried out in Greenwich, south-east London.
The data gathered by the sensors will be used to ensure that landlords act to fix the problem or to take further action against them.
The trial is part of a wider scheme in which 100-plus councils across England have been awarded a share of more than £4million to target unscrupulous or criminal landlords and letting agents who offer inadequate or unsafe housing.
In a pilot scheme, councils will install new wireless technology sensors to test temperatures and humidity levels to ensure tenants are warm over winter [File photo]
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick promised to achieve ‘a better deal for renters’.
He added: ‘It’s completely unacceptable that a minority of unscrupulous landlords break the law and provide homes which fall short of the standards we rightly expect, making lives difficult for hard-working tenants.
‘Everyone deserves to live in a home that is safe and secure. The funding will strengthen councils’ powers to crack down on poor landlords and drive up standards in the private rented sector across the country.’
The cash pot was unveiled in November to help local authorities take enforcement action and tell tenants of their rights.
Across Yorkshire and the Humber, 22 councils will be funded to train more than 100 enforcement officers.
In Northampton, a special operations unit will be set up and in Thurrock, Essex, vulnerable young tenants will be given extra support in tandem with care services.
Labour housing spokesman John Healey said the funding did not make up for cuts to local authority budgets.
‘This puny commitment is a drop in the ocean compared to the cuts that councils have faced since 2010,’ he said.
‘The Conservatives have gifted rogue landlords the freedom to flourish by cutting council budgets, weakening their powers and refusing to legislate to drive up standards.’
The sensors will then raise the alarm when the temperature gets too low or humidity reaches levels which can cause damp or mould in the trial being carried out in Greenwich, south-east London [File photo]
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