Councils across England are to share more than £4m to target criminal landlords and letting agents.

The funding has been given to 100 councils to enable them to take enforcement action against these landlords and advise tenants of their housing rights.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'It’s completely unacceptable that a minority of unscrupulous landlords continue to break the law and provide homes which fall short of the standards we rightly expect - making lives difficult for hard-working tenants who just want to get on with their lives.

'Everyone deserves to live in a home that is safe and secure and the funding announced today will strengthen councils’ powers to crack down on poor landlords and drive up standards in the private rented sector for renters across the country.'