'Absolutely scandalous': health crisis declared over state of homes as council vows rogue landlord crackdown
Salford Mayor Paul Dennett has declared a ‘public health crisis’ over ‘shocking’ conditions discovered in buildings which were converted into house shares.
Inspections by the council at 91 houses of multiple occupation (HMO) in Salford found that 99 per cent were below par for the health and safety standards expected by town hall officials.
Tenants living in buildings with fire hazards alongside damp and mould were the most common issues found by council inspectors, as well as ‘excess cold’ due to poor heating.
The issues affect Section 257 HMOs, which the council says are ‘buildings that have been converted into self-contained flats but did not meet the required building regulation applicable at the time they were converted, and still do not meet those regulations, and are less than two thirds owner-occupied.’
Salford council vowed to launch a ‘crackdown on rogue landlords’ in the city who are renting out homes with major safety hazards.
Salford Mayor Dennett and his cabinet team at the council agreed to launch a consultation on plans for a city-wide additional licensing scheme for Section 257 HMOs.
The City Mayor said Salford ‘is the first local authority in Greater Manchester’ to be taking such a step to drive up housing standards.
The scheme would require landlords to be licenced by the council, giving the town hall better insight into the conditions tenants are living in.
HMOs not up to the required standards could then face enforcement measures including fines or prosecution, according to a council report.
The council report explained that if the licensing scheme is introduced, it would ‘aim to improve standards across approximately 425 properties’ in the city.
Mr Dennett said: “Landlords should be ashamed of themselves operating these sorts of properties in the city of Salford.
“Today we are saying yes we are going out to consultation, but I want today to be a very firm message to HMO landlords that they really do need to get their act together because the people of Salford deserve better, I am deeply concerned about this.
“This is a public health crisis as far as I’m concerned, out of 91 properties 99 per cent of them failed, that is absolutely scandalous.”
Coun John Merry supported the proposal for a city-wide HMO licensing scheme, saying: “I just think if you’re a tenant you can sleep a little bit easier knowing that your property is covered by landlord licensing, because it means that the landlord cannot escape their responsibility, and we can actually do something about it.”
The move comes after Salford council said last summer that it had handed out £2.2m in fines to landlords renting out unsafe properties.
In July, the council said 26 landlords of HMOs in Salford were hit with fines worth more than £500,000.
Income from penalties has been re-invested into the council’s housing standards and enforcement team to go out and inspect more properties.
Mr Dennett said Salford’s landlords would ‘welcome’ an additional HMO licensing scheme in the city because it would help to keep tenants safe.
He added: “The sooner we act the better because goodness knows what’s going on in the ones we have not inspected.”