VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Council issues £45k in housing fines
01/04/2025 Salford City Council has issued £45,000 of fines to landlords in an effort to improve local housing conditions. |
Landlord fined after 18 people found in three-bed house
20/02/2025 A landlord has been ordered to pay £37,000 after Barnet Council inspectors found 18 people, including children, sharing a home in Edgware. |
Rayner announces £350m affordable housing boost
12/02/2025 An extra £350m will be invested to boost the number of affordable homes and more will be done to stop rogue landlords getting benefits, the deputy PM says. |
Over 100 councils report not prosecuting rogue landlords
22/11/2024 More than 100 local authorities have reported that they have not prosecuted any rogue landlords at all in half a decade, new research reveals. |
New powers for councils to tackle empty shops
12/11/2024 Local authorities will get new powers next month to force landlords to rent out persistently empty high street properties. |
No-fault evictions ban returns to Commons
11/09/2024 A ban on landlords evicting tenants without a valid reason is among the ‘landmark’ renting reforms to be introduced to Parliament today. |
Council seizes properties from rogue landlord
28/08/2024 A rogue landlord has had several properties seized by Merton Council after failing to license them in what is a first move of its kind for the London borough. |
Award-winning Caseload Manager outperforms expectations, as tenancies under management near one million
22/07/2024 Voicescape’s award-winning technology, Caseload Manager, has outperformed expectations, doubling in size in the last 12 months. |
Labour-commissioned report calls for cap on rent rises
14/05/2024 Rent rises should be capped to help millions of struggling renters in England and Wales, a new report commissioned by Labour argues. |
Councils fail to collect £7m in fines from rogue landlords
14/05/2024 Less than half the fines levied against rogue landlords have been collected by local authorities, a freedom of information request has revealed. |
MPs sign off indefinite delay to no-fault evictions ban
25/04/2024 The Renters (Reform) Bill, which now includes an indefinite delay to the long-awaited ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions, passed its third reading in the Commons yesterday. |
Lib Dems pledge to scrap business rates
09/04/2024 The Liberal Democrats would deliver tax reforms to ‘revive struggling high streets’, leader Ed Davey will announce today. |
No-fault evictions in London rise 60%
04/03/2024 London mayor Sadiq Khan has slammed ministers ‘broken promises’ over protections for private renters amid reports that promised reforms are being watered down. |
Gove consults on plan for quicker housing repairs
09/01/2024 Social landlords would be required to fix hazards including damp and mould within ‘strict time limits’ under proposals set out by housing secretary Michael Gove today. |
Liverpool launches taskforce to tackle criminal landlords
04/12/2023 Liverpool City Council has launched a taskforce to go after rogue landlords involved in criminality. |
Council failure left ambulance unable to reach resident
15/11/2023 Stevenage Borough Council’s failure to fix a disabled resident’s door entry system left the ambulance service unable to attend to him, a watchdog has found. |
Government urged to push through ‘no fault’ evictions ban
09/11/2023 The chair of the levelling up, housing and communities (LUHC) committee has urged the Government to commit to a timetable for abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. |
Councils respond to King’s Speech
08/11/2023 The Local Government Association (LGA) has responded to proposed legislation announced yesterday in the King’s Speech. |
Islington ordered to pay £66,000 after housing investigation
24/10/2023 A ‘disjointed’ approach to complaints and a ‘lack of ownership’ were found in a special investigation to be behind Islington Council's 'persisting' housing problems. |
Social housing complaints hit record high
17/10/2023 Complaints against social housing landlords last year saw a record spike due to poor property conditions and media coverage after the death of Awaab Ishak. |
Sheffield landlord gets country's longest banning order
06/10/2023 A Sheffield man has been added to the Rogue Landlord Database and banned from letting or managing properties for 10 years. |
Landlord fined £285,000 after council investigates illegal homes
01/09/2023 A landlord who crammed vulnerable tenants into tiny flats above a Stoke Newington pub has been fined £285,000 after Hackney Council enforcement officers intervened. |
Let renting childminders work from home, minister tells landlords
21/08/2023 Children and families minister Claire Coutinho has told developers and social landlords to allow childminders to work from rented properties. |
Brent issues first ever ban on ‘criminal' landlord
17/08/2023 Brent Council has for the first time used a power that enables it to ban serial rogue landlords. |
Campaigners call for more ‘sex for rent’ protections
29/06/2023 Generation Rent has called for the Government to do more to protect financially vulnerable renters from being forced into ‘sex for rent’ arrangements. |
Charity warns of backdoor ‘no fault’ evictions
15/06/2023 Landlords will continue with ‘no fault’ evictions even after Section 21 evictions are banned if renters’ rights are not strengthened, charity warns. |
Rogue landlords are using ‘fake bailiffs’, charity warns
05/06/2023 Rogue landlords are using fake private security guards dressed like court bailiffs to force families out of their rented homes, a charity has warned. |
Social landlords urged to build ‘partnership of equals’
01/06/2023 Social landlords should build a ‘partnership of equals’ with their tenants, a leading housing association has urged. |
Council chiefs welcome proposals to ban ‘no fault’ evictions
17/05/2023 Local government leaders have welcomed the announcement of proposals to stop landlords evicting tenants without a good reason. |
Calls for supported housing improvements
09/05/2023 MPs and Whitehall’s spending watchdog have demanded improved regulation and data on supported housing amid evidence the system is blighted by rogue landlords. |
Landlords letting ‘non-decent’ homes get £1.6bn of benefits
19/04/2023 London Mayor Sadiq Khan is demanding action over the ‘scandal’ that billiions of pounds are being paid to landlords for substandard properties. |
Government launches £500,000 know-your-rights scheme
19/04/2023 Social housing tenants in seven cities are to be offered a place on a Government-funded training scheme aimed at helping them hold their landlords to account. |
Landlords accuse Government of complacency over benefits
18/04/2023 Landlords have accused the Government of complacency over tenants who cannot pay their housing costs. |
Mayor told to take urgent action against rogue landlords
20/03/2023 Urgent action is needed to tackle rogue landlords who are targeting vulnerable Londoners and placing them in dangerous housing, committee warns. |
Over 1.5m children living in mouldy rented homes
21/02/2023 More than one and a half million children in England are currently living in excessive cold, damp or mouldy private rented homes, new research has revealed. |
One million private renters at risk of eviction
01/12/2022 One in 12 private renters in England – or nearly one million people – are currently under threat of eviction, housing charity reveals. |
Landlords call for cost-of-living plan
30/09/2022 Landlords have urged the Chancellor to adopt a cost-of-living plan for the private rented sector. |
Cost-of-living crisis to have ‘catastrophic’ impact
21/09/2022 The cost-of-living crisis is likely to have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on homelessness and so should be treated with the same level of urgency as the pandemic. |
Landlords warn against end of ‘no fault’ evictions
07/09/2022 Government plans to stop landlords from being able to carry out ‘no fault’ evictions will encourage anti-social behaviour, landlords claim. |
Council landlords named and shamed
17/08/2022 Seven councils have been named and shamed for failings in their housing services. |
Grant worth £500,000 launched to help social housing residents
16/08/2022 Social housing residents are to be given more access to training and support to help them raise issues with their landlord thanks to a £500,000 grant. |
Councils granted new powers to tackle unscrupulous landlords
04/07/2022 Local authorities are to receive new powers to help crack down on unscrupulous landlords who exploit vulnerable residents. |
Two thirds of private renters unaware of new rights
23/06/2022 Two thirds of renters are unaware that their local authority can help them when they experience problems with a landlord, letting agent or home, report finds. |
Council chiefs cautiously welcome new private renting protections
16/06/2022 New measures aimed at protecting the rights of renters are welcome but local authorities must be properly funded to support implementation, council chiefs say. |
Over 820,000 households struggling to pay rent
08/06/2022 Landlords have called on the Chancellor to unfreeze housing benefit as they warn that hundreds of thousands of people struggle to pay their monthly rents. |
City council approves selective licensing scheme
25/05/2022 Nottingham council has approved a new selective licensing scheme for private landlords in order to help safeguard and improve housing standards for tenants. |
Landlords call for ‘property passports’
24/05/2022 The association representing landlords has called for new property passports to help landlords prove their homes are compliant. |
One in six private renters live in poor conditions
06/05/2022 More than one in six private renters in England were forced to accept poor conditions to find somewhere they could rent, housing charity says. |
Failing social housing providers to be ‘named and shamed’
29/03/2022 Providers of social housing who fail to deliver decent accommodation will be called out as part of reforms to drive up standards, Government announced today. |
Section 21 evictions drop by over 50%
22/11/2021 The number of repossession cases in the courts involving landlords using ‘no explanation’ notices has decreased over past two years, Government data reveals. |
Government announces measures to prevent company evictions
19/06/2020 The Government has extended measures to prevent struggling companies from eviction over the summer until the end of September. |
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Charity says it ‘defies belief’ that renters evicted during a pandemic
24/03/2020 Shelter has warned that legislation to suspend new eviction cases during the coronavirus pandemic does not go far enough as 20,000 evictions set to go ahead. |
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Next mayor should ‘step up’ fight against rogue landlords, group says
09/03/2020 Half of London’s boroughs did not fine any landlords for letting out unsafe homes in the past year, new research reveals. |
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Councils secure funding to tackle criminal landlords
17/01/2020 Councils across England are to share more than £4m to target criminal landlords and letting agents. |
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Council chiefs welcome £4m ‘rogue landlord’ fund
03/01/2020 Local authorities have welcomed a funding commitment by the Government aimed at cracking down on criminal landlords and letting agents. |
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Rogue landlord fined for ‘endangering lives’
11/12/2019 A landlord in Birmingham has been successfully prosecuted and ordered to pay close to £20,000 for breaching housing regulations. |
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Consultation on opening up ‘rogue landlord’ database to public launched
22/07/2019 The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to open up its rogue landlord database to the public. |
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Over 500,000 social housing tenants in poverty due to smoking
27/06/2019 Over half a million social housing tenants are living in poverty due to the cost of smoking, anti-smoking campaigners say. |
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PM calls for new housing design laws
26/06/2019 The Prime Minister yesterday called for new design laws to ensure high-quality homes in a speech dismissed by Labour as a ‘lame duck announcement’. |
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Labour considers abolishing council tax for renters
04/06/2019 Labour Party is considering proposals to replace council tax with a ‘progressive property tax’, which would be payable by property owners rather than tenants. |
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New guidance for enforcement officers faced with rogue landlords
09/04/2019 The housing minister has announced that two new guidance documents are now available to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords. |
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Peers recommend tax incentives for seaside landlords
04/04/2019 Landlords have welcomed a proposal by peers that they should be given tax incentives to improve their properties in seaside towns. |
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Council spending on tackling ‘criminal landlords’ down a quarter
28/02/2019 The amount councils spend on tackling landlords who break the law has been cut by a quarter in recent years, according to the latest analysis. |
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Whitehall must stop ‘rogue landlords’ receiving public money, council says
22/01/2019 Brent Council has urged the Government to stop rogue landlords who fail ‘fit and proper’ tests from receiving housing benefit. |
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Councils failing to protect tenants from ‘rogue landlords’
29/11/2018 Tenants and good landlords are being failed by a system unable to root out criminal landlords, the results of a freedom of information request show. |
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Brokenshire proposes specialist housing court
13/11/2018 The communities secretary has announced he is considering establishing a specialist housing court to deal with disputes between landlords and tenants. |
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Whitehall launches selective licensing review
20/06/2018 The Government has announced it is launching a review into selective licensing to find out how well it is working. |
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Councils failing to stop ‘revenge evictions’
18/06/2018 Local authorities are failing to protect private renters from ‘revenge evictions’ despite new legislation designed to protect tenants. |
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Redbridge cracks down on ‘rogue landlords’ with licensing scheme
04/06/2018 The Government has given the go-ahead for the expansion of a new licensing scheme across Redbridge to help the council improve conditions for private renters. |
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London’s boroughs throw weight behind ‘rogue landlord’ database
22/05/2018 All 33 of London’s boroughs have now signed up to the capital’s ‘rogue landlord checker’ database, mayor says. |
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Burnham proposes ‘rogue landlord’ amnesty
25/04/2018 Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has proposed an amnesty for ‘rogue landlords’ in an attempt to drive them out of the private rented sector. |
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Council chiefs call for ‘minimum’ £30,000 fine for rogue landlords
23/02/2018 Rogue landlords who commit serious housing offences should be fined a minimum of £30,000, council chiefs say. |
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Database leaves dodgy landlords with ‘nowhere to hide.’
19/12/2017 The mayor of London today launched a new public online database which will enable people to check ‘dodgy’ landlords and letting agents. |
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Private landlords call for help reclaiming UC rent arrears
05/12/2017 Landlords are calling for a mechanism for them to reclaim any rent arrears built up by Universal Credit (UC) claimants who move out of their property. |
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MPs call for compulsory installation of CO alarms
08/11/2017 MPs yesterday called on the Government to make it illegal for a landlord not to install carbon monoxide alarms in post-Grenfell building regulations review. |
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Landlords dodge nearly £200m of tax in London borough
14/08/2017 Up to 13,000 landlords in one east London borough have failed to declare their rental income to the Government, the local council has found. |
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London mayor ‘names and shames’ criminal landlords with new database
26/04/2017 The mayor of London yesterday announced the launch of an online database that will ‘name and shame’ criminal landlords and letting agents in the capital. |
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'Dangerous rogue landlord benefit scam' costs taxpayer millions
07/04/2017 Council chiefs are calling on the Government to close a loophole in the law which enables rogue landlords to carry out a dangerous and costly housing benefit scam. |
