Private landlords will soon need to obtain a new licence to rent out property with multiple individually let rooms in Slough, Berkshire, as part of the local council’s bid to improve standards in the private rented sector.

Landlords will need to register any property they own and plan to let out with multiple individually let rooms across the borough from Monday 1st July. Failure to do so could result in prosecution and fines of up to £30,000.

Under the new licensing system, brought in by Slough Borough Council, landlords with any rental property within the designated area covering parts of the Chalvey and Central wards will also be required to apply for and obtain the new landlord licence.

Landlords will have to provide evidence their property is safe through valid utilities certificates and provide contact details to the council in order to get a licence.

Cllr Mohammed Nazir, cabinet member for housing and community safety, said the new scheme was part if wider efforts to improve conditions for tenants in the PRS.

He said: “In some cases tenants had no idea who their landlord actually was so when a problem, possibly a safety problem, arose there was no way of getting it fixed so people continued to live in dangerous conditions or without adequate facilities.

“A lot of the people who rent in Slough are vulnerable, families with young children, or legal workers who have no family or friends to rely on and basically put up with poor conditions as they have nowhere to turn.

“With a licensing system where landlords are compelled to sign up, there will be accountability and people who need help can get it.

“People’s lives are hugely affected by the property they live in whether that be their mental or physical health, and we need to try and redress that.”