24th
Jul 2016
It has been uncovered that the new Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, has been an outspoken critic of councils’ licensing schemes imposed on private renting landlords.
Gavin Barwell, the MP for Croydon Central, was extremely forthcoming when his authority started its own landlord licensing scheme.....and he was not impressed.
He previously argued that the council would only succeed in be putting up tenants’ rents, he said: “All the evidence suggests that it is a minority of landlords that are causing the problem, not the whole sector.”
He further commented: “So why is our Labour Council taxing all landlords right across the borough (a tax which law-abiding landlords will pay but those causing the problems will try to avoid), rather than using powers it already has to take action against those landlords who are not maintaining and managing their properties properly?”
A spokesperson for an association hoped that Barwell’s views may be called into action in the new Cabinet, though whether Theresa May will agree with her Housing Minister and scrap the schemes is highly unlikely.
He said: “I hope the new minister will recognise the contribution made by private rental sector landlords, who are providing vital homes for millions of people at a time when demand is far outstripping supply, and will be open to hearing their opinions and continue to encourage them to invest.”
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