Landlord ordered to repay £20,000 benefits
A landlord who rented out five properties in Salford has been ordered to pay back nearly twenty thousand pounds in housing benefit for renting them out without a licence.
The landlord, who lives in Barnet, did not bother to get licences for the houses that were introduced under the Charlestown and Lower Kersal licensing scheme by Salford City Council in January 2011.
The landlord did not appear at the hearing and in his absence was ordered to repay the years worth of housing benefits that he received in lieu for rent for the unlicensed properties in Ventnor Street, Romney Street, Lydford Street, Milnthorpe Street and Blandford Road.
The properties remain unlicensed and Salford City Council is deciding whether to take further action.
- It is the second time that the Council has obtained such an order. Councillor Gena Merrett, assistant mayor for housing and environment, applauded the decision of The Residential Property Tribunal which granted the rent repayment order.
“We make it quite clear to landlords that licensing is a legal requirement and that we will take action if they fail to comply. This includes seeking repayment of any housing benefit claimed while the properties are unlicensed,” she said.
“We introduced licensing to improve standards for private tenants and make sure landlords are fit and proper to run those properties. The landlord failed to comply and has paid the price.”
Stoking up Landlords!
Stoke City Council are threatening to prosecute 31 landlords who have failed to sign up to their selective licensing scheme.
The scheme was introduced after the Council found that as much as 45% of the landlords letting properties in the city, lived outside the area.
The council also reported that upon inspection of rented properties in the area 96% had poor maintenance with missing banisters and windows that were in an awful state of repair and rotting. The survey inspected 397 properties in the scheme.
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