Most landlords are law-abiding people who want to do the best job they can for their tenants, but a small minority continue to capture all the headlines and create havoc in the private rental sector.
Chancers to Criminals
One of the sectors leading tenancy relations officers claims that the profile of a rogue landlord has changed from chancer to criminal. He says that in the 90s, most landlords were law-abiding and rogues were few and far between. Today, the private rental sector has been turned into a cash cow where low-quality rental housing is used as a business model to extract cash from vulnerable tenants.
Writing on his Landlord Law Blog, Ben Reeve Lewis comments:
“The modern criminal landlord who threatens their tenant is the kind of landlord who has little compunction in evading licensing or HMRC, ignoring repairs, [Housing Benefit] HB fraud and theft of utilities. This is why a multi-agency approach is so important.”
Rogue Landlord Fined £30k
In one case cited in the blog, a Nottingham landlord harassed his female tenants, failed to protect their deposits, didn’t manage the property, and made everyone’s lives miserable. He has since been fined a substantial amount, some of which will be paid as compensation to his tenants.
***
Manage all your landlord responsibilities, including keeping on top of regulatory obligations with the Landlord Vision software.
Comentários