26th
Jul 2013
Liverpool City Council is the first Authority in the Country to introduce a “whistle blowing” hotline for tenants to report bad landlords. The tenants themselves can remain anonymous.
The hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and any instances of bad practise being carried out landlords, such as strong arm tactics, unlicensed HMO’s, overcrowding as well as suspected criminal activity, can all be reported immediately using the hotline number.
It is estimated that there are more than 50,000 private properties being rented out in Liverpool and any calls that are received on the hotline will be immediately passed over by the Council’s call centre, Liverpool Direct, to the Public Protection Enforcement Team to start off their investigations.
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for housing, Cllr Ann O’Byrne, said: “We are absolutely determined to drive up the quality of private rented properties in this city, and a major part of this is making sure tenants feel safe and secure in their homes.
“This hotline will provide an invaluable resource to those who are being mistreated by their landlords, or whose accommodation is being poorly managed or maintained.
- “It will also allow us to gain intelligence – and take firm action - on unlicensed properties and those which have become a focal point for anti-social behaviour, criminal activity and fly-tipping.
- “This is just one part of the work we are doing, through our 10 Point Pledge, to work with landlords and create a level playing field for all.
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“It’s about us building on our positive relationships with good landlords in the city, while clamping down on those who refuse to engage with us, and whose practices give Liverpool’s private rented sector a bad name.“
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Callers can remain anonymous and emergency calls, where the tenant is at risk of harm or danger will be passed onto Merseyside Police or to Liverpool Direct Limited’s Careline Service.
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The new hotline (0800 707 6245) forms part of the city’s ’10 Point Pledge’ to raise standards in the Private Rented Sector.
PIMS.co.uk comment
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"We all accept it is in the interest for all landlords that the bad are “weeded” out as they can tarnish the whole sector. However there may be a few instances where this system could be abused by people attempting to get even with their landlord, especially if they are behind with their rent. Overall the new service sounds to be an overlap with the current roll provided by Tenant relations officers and Housing drop in centers who already have sufficient powers and enforcement proceedure they can use to pursue Landlords ”
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A suspicion could be a PR spin by the council as a pre curser to justify their intended manadatory licencing and may be a dressed up public consultation excercise
Previous PIMS Article - JAN 2013 regarding Liverpool
Hot on the heels of Newham Council introducing the first Landlords License scheme, Liverpool City Council announces the opening of its city-wide Selective Licensing consultation.
The Mayor of Liverpool has issued a Ten Point Pledge to ensure that standards in the private-rented sector are high and if need be will be driven up to achieve this. A consultation for Selective Licensing, which is open until April, is an important part of the Mayor’s Pledge.
It is estimated by the Council that there are over 18,000 properties, out of the total of 42,000, that simply do not meet the requirements of the Government’s Decent Home Standards. It does not end there as the Council say that a further 8,000 properties have at least one category hazard.
Liverpool Council’s strategy to improve the housing standards is to introduce Selective Licensing across the City. So as with Newham, all landlords will have to register and pass a ‘fit and proper person’ check to be able to rent properties.
It does beg the question as to how “Rogue Landlords” will view this “request”, it is thought that they will just ignore it as they do with their standards of housing and just carry on as normal.
The council has pledged to work with the majority of responsible landlords, support their businesses and create a level playing field for all, while cracking down on those who do not manage their properties properly.
There is currently a compulsory licensing scheme for the 1,250 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the city, which the council says has driven an improvement in standards and property management.
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