Prime Minister Andy Burnham says councils are to get new powers to crackdown on rogue landlords.
His keynote speech to his party conference said improving the private rental sector was part of his programme “taking back control with our communities”.
He told delegates: “We will give councils the power to take control of them and bring them back into the public housing stock.
“You will see rented homes in a poor state of repair too, on so many British streets. Homes which harm the health of the people inside and drag down the streets around them.
“The worst of it, often owned by absentee landlords who are paid through the benefit system but refuse to reinvest anything in the upkeep of the property.”
He says it is “time to call an end to this” and says negligent landlords will be given warnings to improve.
“If they refuse, we will make it much easier for councils to acquire those homes and we will legislate if necessary.”
And he concluded that part of his speech saying: “We don’t let people sell food which damages health, so why allow it with homes from now on? We won’t.
“This is what I mean about taking back control with our communities.”
No details of the additional powers were given during the speech: Landlord Today has asked the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for details.
Meanwhile Housing Secretary Angela Rayner promised mandatory regulation of letting and estate agents.
She told delegates: “But it’s not just some freeholders that can exploit leaseholders and tenants. Estate agents, letting agents and property management agent can do too.
“A sector with many decent businesses of course. But they are undermined and undercut by far too many cowboys, crooks and con artists. And homeowners and renters and leaseholders pay the price through hidden fees and traps.
“People who should be excited about buying a home are tricked into using overpriced in-house services.
“Unqualified, unlicensed and unregulated agents are taking thousands from their clients and mishandling their money.
“With no transparency or accountability, vultures can take advantage.
“At my brief time as a backbencher, I said this was a problem. I wish that I had the chance to tackle and urged the government to act. Now, under this prime minister, I’m proud to do so myself.
“Conference we will legislate for an independent regulation to reign these cowboys in. They will be required to follow the rules and if they don’t, their licenses will be taken away.”
