Property experts have warned that Andy Burnham’s promised crackdown on rogue landlords could damage relationships and lead to good ones selling up.

In his conference speech, the Prime Minister promised councils new powers to acquire privately rented homes from landlords who refuse to put poor-quality properties right, but the government has yet to explain how this would work. Burnham took aim at absentee landlords, “who are paid through the benefits system but refuse to reinvest anything in the upkeep of the property”.

Labour will compulsorily purchase properties that fall below acceptable standards, and bring more homes into council ownership, as well as strengthen council powers to take over empty homes and rent them out cheaply to families.  

However, Vann Vogstad, CEO of HMO landlord property management platform COHO (pictured left), has urged Burnham not to inadvertently make it impossible for good landlords to operate.

Powers

“The government also needs to be clear about what these additional powers will mean in practice, including which properties they will apply to, what threshold councils will have to meet and how they will work alongside existing legislation,” says Vogstad. “The concern is that if regulation keeps removing landlords’ ability to manage properties effectively, deal with problematic tenancies and make a reasonable return, more good landlords may simply leave the sector and sell.”

Both the NRLA and Propertymark have also called for more clarity around how the proposals would work in practice, particularly as the national rental property registration service begins rolling out in December. Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark (pictured right), says this will mean councils have greater access to information to support targeted, intelligence-led enforcement.

Focus

“The focus should be on making better use of existing tools rather than simply adding another layer of legislation and potentially damaging relationships between good landlords and government,” says Douglas.

“Every case will have different circumstances, so any proposals must be proportionate and recognise the individual circumstances of the property and those living in it.”

Earlier this week, the government said councils would get new powers to take over empty and derelict homes by reducing the period a property must be empty before it becomes eligible for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) from two years to six months.

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