Councils call for legal process for prosecuting landlords to be speeded up

Councils have called for the court process for dealing with rogue landlords to be speeded up so that more cases can be taken to court.

The Local Government Association said it welcomed the Government’s recent announcement of a further £5m in funding for councils to help tackle the issue.

The LGA has also backed a measure in the Housing and Planning Bill that provides for maximum fines of up to £30,000.

However, it warned that under the current system it could take more than a year to prosecute a landlord.

The LGA insisted that councils were taking action to deal with the worst cases. Examples of recent prosecutions it gave were:

• In Birmingham, a landlord was prosecuted for illegally evicting a couple and their seven children from their home, changing the locks and putting the family in the garage. On 13 January 2016 he was fined £700, with £1,500 costs and a victim surcharge of £70.
• Also in Birmingham, a landlord was forced to pay more than £5,000 after illegally evicting a mother and her 11-year-old son, putting her belongings in the garden and shed, and changing the locks. “When she regained access using a locksmith he had the locks drilled out, leaving her too scared to stay at the property,” the LGA said.
• In North East Lincolnshire, a landlord received a suspended prison sentence after a tenant returned to the flat to find the locks changed and some possessions removed. The landlord said he thought the tenant had left the property.
• In Middlesbrough, a landlord was given a 12-month community order after forcing her way into a home and evicting a family with young children, bundling their possessions into black bags.
• In Manchester, a landlord was fined £3,500 after removing a family illegally and making them homeless.

Cllr Peter Box, LGA housing spokesman, said: "Councils won't hesitate to take irresponsible landlords to court and show the consequences they may face if they don't apply the law correctly.

"Making people homeless by bullying them out of their properties, changing locks and removing personal belongings is not only a criminal offence, but also traumatic for the victims.

"When relationships break down between tenants and landlords there are strict legal processes that have to be followed and council officers are here to help both sides move forward.”

Cllr Box added: "No landlord can act outside the law and councils will do everything in their powers to ensure tenants can live in rented properties safe in the knowledge that local authorities are there to protect them from illegal eviction.

"Failure to follow the right eviction process could leave reckless landlords with a criminal record and an unwanted new home themselves – a prison cell.”