Local authorities only responded to a third of complaints about hazardous private accommodation between 2021 and 2023, according to freedom of information data.
Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) councils can carry out inspections to identify hazards in rented properties following a complaint by a tenant. They are then able to compel the landlord to act where hazards are detected.
However, FOI data obtained from 295 councils in England by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has found that between 2021 and 2023, half of all inspections conducted under the HHSRS were carried out by just 20 local authorities.
Sixteen percent of councils were unable to provide any inspection figures and 37% were unable to provide any housing tenure specific data related to tenant complaints.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said: ‘Calls for new laws to tackle rogue and criminal landlords are distracting from the fact that councils routinely fail to make the best use of the powers available to them. The focus must be on swift, consistent enforcement. This is in the interest of households and responsible landlords.’
An LGA spokesperson: ‘Everyone deserves a safe, decent, warm and affordable place to live and councils do everything they can to tackle bad practice and take action, as appropriate, to raise standards in the private rented sector.
‘However, many local enforcement teams do not currently have the resources and capacity to proactively tackle poor standards in the PRS.’
