A PropTech company which aims its products at landlords, claim that over 600,000 landlords are breaking the rules when it comes to providing their tenant with a safe and healthy home.

And as a result it suggests that almost five million private renters in the UK live in poor conditions. 

The supplier, Yuno, adds that a Building Research Establishment report found poor housing causes a health burden on the NHS costing £1.4 billion a year.

Yuno says its new app aims to help landlords “transform their buy to lets” by coming to terms with council licensing regimes.

The supplier claims its app will monitor changes, compliance and article 4 planning checks and says this facility is “aimed at better educating and informing the industry about licensing and their responsibilities.”

Paul Conway, Yuno’s founder, says: “Where you live has a huge influence on the path your life will take. We know a healthy home is the best foundation for our physical and mental health, but it impacts our work and social lives too. 

“The BRE report findings are shocking, with the knock-on effects to the NHS estimated at £1.4 billion a year. With a cost of living crisis upon us, the consequential costs will be far greater as we factor in sick days for business, rising levels of crime and additional pressures on the welfare system.

“Understanding the licensing regime is a minefield – made worse by it changing from council to council, with changes coming in on average every nine days. I suspect that most landlords won’t know that their homes aren’t conforming to licensing standards. Change is afoot, and the government is looking at proposals to transform the sector but this is going to take time. 

“My argument to landlords is this: why wait? If fined, landlords face £30,000 plus in legal costs and a whole lot of stress for all parties, £50,000 for those in Scotland – the solutions to making it a healthier home will likely be much cheaper.”