Councils have been urged to properly record complaints about the private rented sector after campaigners found over half are failing to accurately do so.
Research by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) found 56% of local authorities in England do not accurately record the number of complaints they receive concerning private rented sector housing.
This percentage increases to 61% for councils that have selective licensing schemes, the research revealed.
It also found many councils fail to register any inspections conducted under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System, with just 98,858 inspections carried out between 2018 and 2021.
Chris Norris, director of policy & campaigns at the NRLA, said: 'These figures show that there is a long way to go before councils deal effectively with the rogue landlords who bring the sector into disrepute.
'Until councils adopt a more effective approach towards recordkeeping, it will be impossible for them to take the steps necessary to enforce regulations.'
The research also found that local authorities that did accurately record these complaints dealt with an average of 274 complaints per year.
