By Ashley Young-
Most landlords are responsible people, providing good, safe accommodation. Yet, across the country, many tenants in private housing suffer problems such as damp and mould, inadequate heating and ventilation, overcrowding and disrepair, which can affect their health, safety and quality of life.
Bradford Council’s housing standards team are on the prowl for bad landlords, following thousands of complaints they receive from discontent tenants . Fire safety, inadequate kitchen or bathroom facilities and unsafe gas and electrical fixtures are some of the several issues that is frequently complained about by unhappy tenants. Many landlords ignore tenants complaints, until the tenant takes serious action against the landlord in question.
Officers from the Bradford team have been conducting broad inspections of properties and contacting landlords to make sure they address any outstanding problems, unless they want serious action taken against them. As well as reacting to tenants complaints, the team is proactive, carrying out checks focusing on an area or type of property based on risk. With the new University semester already started, Bradford Council is determined to ensure no students fall victim to shady landlords.
”Bradford has a lot of dodgy landlords, housing standards manager told The Eye Of Media.Com. Action has been taken against many of them, but some landlords persist in providing low standard accommodation.
“We focus upon the main arterial routes into the city,” housing standards manager Liam Jowett said. “We know from experience that this type of accommodation is high risk for fire safety. We give advice and take action where necessary.”
Inspectors are targeting various areas in Bradford, especially properties owned by known landlords of poor standards. Housing inspectors are determined to end the system of poor housing operated by shabby landlords who still expect payment for their work.
“We assess for 29 hazards including fire safety, damp and mould and excess cold” adds Liam. “We look at the defects and assess how serious a hazard it is. If there are concerns we advise what is needed to remedy a situation,” Liam said
In the year 2017/18 the team received 1581 service requests, with 794 enforcement notices served. In that period there were nine prosecutions, with a further three since April 1 this year.
In April, two landlords- one in Bradford- the other in Keighley were prosecuted and fined for failing to maintain their properties in good condition. The Bradford landlord was fined in excess of £6500 for failing to comply with an improvement notice. Multiple defects at the house in Girlington included rotten window frames, a mouse infestation, a lack of working smoke alarms, electrical defects and penetrating damp.
The landlord in Keighley failed to manage his property containing six flats, and was fined a similar amount . His tenants were forced to live in flats which were not covered by a working fire alarm system, allowed a prohibited bedroomed to be used and did not attend to other repairs.
“We approach the landlord and give them to opportunity to put things right,” Julie Rhodes, the department’s principal operations manager said “We find that a lot of properties do come up to standard.”
Those who fail to comply will be subjected to heavy fine. There is an agreed framework across all five West Yorkshire authorities with a maximum £30,000 fine,
The lowest level of CPN that can be charged is £2000, which equates to low culpability and low harm and includes legal costs. Bradford Council has issued four final notices since CPN were introduced, and have five more pending. As from this month, it will be imperative for landlords to apply for a licence to lawfully continue renting out the property.
“ All landlords must have a license, Liam told The Eye Of Media.Com. Officers have been carrying out a survey , trying to identify properties that need a licence so we can advise the landlords,” “We are trying to raise awareness and have been putting information on social media and on our Stay Connected bulletin service. We’ve also written out to all our HMO landlords.”
Bradford Council is encouraging tenants to approach their landlords to raise any issues of concern they may have, but the council is prepared to intervene if no resolution is achieved.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, portfolio holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We take the safety of homes extremely seriously and will not hesitate to take action where we find evidence that landlords are not ensuring their properties are safe and meeting the proper standards.
“It is vitally important landlords register HMO properties to ensure they meet the required standards.
“If you own a property occupied by five or more tenants making two or more households, please get in touch with our housing team so they can help you comply with the new law. There are no excuses for unsafe or substandard accommodation.”
One sector of accommodation that has improved markedly over the years is student accommodation. “There is a lot more purpose-built student housing,” says Liam, “Students are now more demanding and landlords have to keep in line with their requirements.”