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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Sadiq Khan vows to expose London’s rogue landlords

The new mayor of London has pledged to get tough on rogue landlords in the capital by introducing a ‘London Landlord Watchlist’ with a view to coming down on those who take advantage of tenants “like a ton of bricks”.

His policy, which has proved popular with many of London’s near 2 million renters, will see a public City Hall database created allowing tenants to check out landlords before moving into a property, as well as “name and shame” the worst ones, including those landlords who have repeatedly broken the law.

Offences that could see landlords featured on the watchlist include unlawful eviction of tenants, failure to comply with an overcrowding notice, and harassment.

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Housing was one of the key issues of the London mayor election campaign, with a recent survey of 2,062 adults carried out by ComRes revealing that it was the number one concern for Londoners ahead of the London mayoral election.

Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker, commented: “The emphasis on housing from all the candidates is not unexpected, with the lack of affordability one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of London.”

What does Sadiq Khan’s victory mean for housing in London?

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  • Peter Lassman

    I am all for "a bad Landlord Database as long as it is Regulated Properly and complaints checked correctly and substantiated and as long as Sadiq Khan acknowledges that there is also a Big need for a BAD TENANT LIST as there are far more Bad Tenants than bad Landlords

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    He'd do better to compile a bad tenants list. That might encourage more people into letting property. Which may do more for the housing shortage then this old chestnut.

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    They can check all they want, then go & buy your own but not with Rogue help to buy Scheme funded by our taxes.

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    • 12 September 2019 10:43 AM

    Might I suggest that Khan targets those areas where rogue LL tend to flourish.
    So I suggest the areas be Southall
    Barking and Dagenham
    Lewisham
    Brent
    Ilford
    Well you know the sorts of areas that need targeting where the majority of rogue LL are.
    There are very few in Kensington and Chelsea or Hampstead and Highgate or Wimbledon.
    Rogue LL tend not to occur where there are very small populations of ethnic minorities.
    So perhaps we should have vans going round areas where these rogue LL tend to exist.
    So on the vans

    'Grass up any LL you believe is rogue'

    I'm sure ALL good LL and the general public would totally support such actions.

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    Hi Paul.
    This is my pet subject.
    I have pointed the need for Rent Smart Wales to target specific areas, where I know the majority of rogue landlords exist.
    Instead of being proactive, they rely on tenants and the general public to inform them of any alleged wrongdoing.
    RSW are a totally useless quango set up by the Welsh Assembly Government to APPEAR to be tackling the problem of rogue landlords.
    All this organisation has managed to achieve, is to inconvenience the 'genuine' landlords who were doing everything right before the inception of this debacle.
    As much use as a chocolate teapot.

     
    Peter  Yednell

    It's not a matter of "area" but the government's policy of paying HB not only (understandbly) at rares lower than the top end of thr market but also paying a set amount based on size of property abd not on quality (it used to be based on market value eg quality). As such a good landlord at the lower end who rents to benefit claimants gets the same rent income as a slum landlord who neglects their properties.. Sort out the benefit system and slum landlords would be forced out as lower end of the market.. compete for tenants by improving theirproperties..

    How? Random checks on properties receiving benefits with rent capped at actual market value for five years (irrespective of change of tenancy or let to non benefit) unless improvements are made; and previous overpayment having to be be repaid. Too bureacratic? We know the 'Shelter',mob want every property in the UK registered. How much will that cost?

     
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    • 12 September 2019 10:57 AM

    Hmm!
    It would be my guess that the vast majority of rogue LL exist because they tend to let to tenants who do NOT have the Right TO Rent.
    So perhaps where illegal immigrants and rogue LL are might be worth targeting.
    They tend to be in the same areas!!

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    you mean moslem areas where moslems abuse other moslems

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    • 12 September 2019 12:38 PM

    I would suggest that rather than such abuses bring restricted to certain religious populations the problem of rogue LL seems to occur wherever there are significant numbers of non-white people.
    Such areas are usually readily identifiable and therefore it shouldn't be too difficult for Councils to identify where these rogue LL might exist.
    I would suggest it is pointless targeting principally British National areas as very few of them are engaged in letting illegally to those who don't have the R2R.
    Of course that could be construed as a sweeping generalisation but I would contend that rogue LL will be found in areas where there are large numbers of non-British nationals or where the white population are few in number.

     
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    Hi Paul.
    maybe, therein lies the problem?
    Targeting such areas may appear to be singling out a particular group for attention.
    You know what the result would be, cries of racism etc.
    It is akin to the old "sus' laws in London that were abolished because it targeted searching principally black people, even though the area was predominantly inhabited by these people anyway and who were responsible for most of the crime.
    Strangely enough, whenever I contact RSW, it is always a Pakistani that seems to answer the phone.
    Imagine telling him that the areas in which his people reside should be targeted.
    Human rights and political correctness override common sense.

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    • 12 September 2019 17:15 PM

    Surely Council investigators should go where the intelligence leads them to.
    Just because it turns out that the majority of rogue LL tend to be in certain areas is no reason to ignore such areas even if there AREN'T many white British Nationals residing there.
    The mere fact that anyone is a rogue LL doesn't mean they should belong to a particular ethnic group.
    If the intelligence would seem to suggest that most rogue LL AREN'T white British then why would Councils waste their time investigating white British LL!?
    Surely it is irrelevant what the ethnicity of a rogue LL is!?
    It is the fact that they are a rogue LL that is important.
    Personally I am NOT the slightest bit interested in the ethnicity of a rogue LL.
    I just want all Rogue LL eradicated irrespective of race; colour or creed.
    They are unfair competition and suppress rent levels

     
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    Before Sadiq Khan gets carried away with himself and his City Hall data base. He needs to give LL’s some instrument to deal with the issues he is going to clamp down on, that has been caused by anti- Private Regulators.

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    • 08 January 2021 10:11 AM

    How big is the London area within Khan's Juristriction?

     
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    • 08 January 2021 09:49 AM

    Now that would be interesting, maybe he can start with areas like east and south London. If you have to ask why east and south.....don't bother.

  • Kathryn Everson

    No problem having some sort of 'Register' for landlords. but surely not to have the same for Tenants, must be against some sort of law ? 'Competition law; 'Equality Act' ?. If there isn't one, there should be on the grounds of fairness and equality across the board. Many bad tenants do not end up in court, with County Court judgements against them, as section 21, the INCORRECTLY NAMED 'no fault' eviction route, allowed landlords to legally regain their own property in the most cost and time effective manner for both landlord AND Tenant, from those rogue Tenants who caused a nuisance to Neighbours; wrecked a property; stopped paying their rent (often to landlords who still had mortgages and other outgoings to pay for the property); left the property in a disgusting state with hundreds of £'s worth of damage or mess and have broken the terms of their ' legally binding lease'. Sadly there are quite a few of these tenants who behave like this to a greater or lessor degree and it's amazing that people still follow 'Shelter' propaganda and just don't get, that it absolutely does not make business sense for any landlord to want to evict any tenant, who pays their rent on time, keeps the property in good, clean repair and adheres to the terms of their 'Legal' lease they signed, with much pre-support and advice available prior to doing so from the government (How to Rent). These 'rogue tenants may not have County court judgements against them due to the section 21 route taken, to prove their behavior, but I'm sure, Deposit Protection agencies, should be able to verify and back up the number of deposits genuinely with held by Landlords for valid, legal reasons due to damage, mess and breaking of the 'legal' Tenancy Agreement.

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    I had a tenant who had her face slashed with broken glass ,this was as a result of a criminal landlord who filled a neighbouring property with drug dealers and thugs knowing their tenants were highly dangerous and unstable,
    However this landlord was the local council and as we all know they are totally unaccountable and above any law

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