UK private landlords are being urged by councils to police their tenants’ behaviour in a bid to allay the financial burden of handling noise and waste queries currently inflicted on their own budgets.
A recent meeting took place in Liverpool, where 20 landlords involved in an accreditation scheme were ‘reminded’ of their obligatory duties in helping to prevent complications.
In a warning to the group, the council told them officers had been called out to over 600 visits this year due to complaints from neighbours about house in multiple occupation (HMO) issues. Yet the problem with housing legislation is that it only applies to what happens on a landlord’s direct premises – meaning that occurrences outside their property are deemed invalid.
Cabinet member for housing, Councillor Ann O’Byrne, has requested that landlords reference check their tenants in an attempt to reduce the risk of renting out their property to someone likely to behave in an anti-social manner.
“Anti-social behaviour causes misery for neighbours and damages communities,” she said. “We are looking to landlords to work with us in tackling this issue. We expect all landlords, to take reasonable action to prevent and, where necessary, to remedy anti-social behaviour.
“Most landlords are responsible and want to work for the good of their tenants and the wider community. We will support them in carrying out their responsibilities so that together we can stop anti-social behaviour.”
Coventry is also debating this new move, with councillors looking to article 4 directions to limit new student HMOs – whilst councillors in York are to assess the impact article 4 directions rules have made 12 months on.
York’s direction prevents over 20 per cent of properties in any neighbourhood and 10 per cent on homes within any 100 metre radius of a street from becoming an HMO or a shared property housing more than three tenants.
With the majority of private landlords being called upon to conduct stringent tenancy checks as well as keep a watchful eye over the behaviour of their tenants, it’s imperative that landlords receive the right support in order to help them deal with any anti-social instances. For help in dealing with nightmare tenants, speak to an advisor at
Total Landlord Insurance on 0800 63 43 880 – and enjoy a dream tenancy today.
