An activist leader has backed the gift of millions of pounds of public money to  councils to clamp down on landlords.

The government is giving an extra £41.12m in new funding  following an initial £18.2m given to councils last year.

The high profile announcement was made by the government yesterday, less than a month before the local elections and the start of the Renters Rights Act.

The chief executive of Generation Rent, Ben Twomey, says: “The Renters Rights Act is a vital step in addressing the power imbalance between tenants and landlords. 

“But the law will only reach into people’s homes and make a positive difference to their lives if councils are able to take actions against landlords who don’t follow the new rules. 

“Therefore, we’re pleased to see the government commit further funding for councils, boosting their ability to make sure renters feel the benefit of the changes.”

A statement from the government says: “To ensure justice is delivered for both renters and landlords up to £50m will be invested to modernise the civil courts and this includes digitalising court processes. 

“Further still, an additional £5m is being invested into fee uplifts for the housing legal aid sector each year, so all renters can continue to access free help and support in the event of facing eviction from their home.”

New powers for councils coming on May 1 include: 

• A duty to enforce: councils will be legally obliged to make sure landlords are complying with the new rules that ban old practices like rental bidding wars, discrimination against tenants with kids or receiving benefits and ‘no-fault’ evictions;

• Bigger fines: landlords seriously or repeatedly breaking the law will now face higher fines of up to £40,000 – up from £30,000;

• Rent Repayment Orders will also be heftier if the rules aren’t being followed – going from one year’s worth of rent to two years – and tenants can challenge offences going back to two years, up from one year.

This follows expanded investigatory powers that came into force last December for councils to carry out ramped up, more thorough investigations where they suspect landlords are breaking the law – from the entering the premises without having to give prior notice to landlords to accessing information from third-parties like banks and accountants.