New Powers to Target ‘Dodgy Landlords’
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP, has backed Telford MP Shaun Davies’s call to crack down on landlords who “don’t play by the rules” in the town.
The issue of rogue landlords and unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) was raised by Telford Live when the two politicians met this week, with the local MP stating it was a major concern for residents.
Mr Davies said: “We did a huge amount of summer engagement on this, and one of the biggest things we’ve heard is people who don’t play by the rules getting away with it.”
He added that councils and police would soon have the power to interrupt “dodgy landlords who, for too often, have taken housing benefit payments off the government but aren’t providing decent housing for their tenants.”
The Secretary of State was asked directly by Telford Live about the number of unlicensed HMOs, particularly in areas like Woodside.
Mr Reed said that while councils have existing powers to restrict the number of HMOs, the root issue is a national housing shortage, which the government is determined to solve.
“The Chancellor has charged me and the Prime Minister with getting one and a half million homes built over the lifetime of this Parliament, and I will do that,” he said.
He confirmed the government is taking down barriers to building, with new legislation going through Parliament to “speed up the planning process.”
