£280,000 fund to fight against rogue landlords

Manchester has been given £280,000 from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to continue improving private sector housing standards.

The money will be used to target rogue landlords that take advantage of immigrants or people who have no status to remain in the UK.

The project follows a pilot project last year which also successfully bid for DCLG funding. It focused on sub-standard accommodation above shops as a key area of problem housing, largely in areas of deprivation. It became clear in the programme that rogue landlord activity along with information from officers working directly in the neighbourhoods has the potential to uncover migrant issues.

The new funding will allow the continuation of investigation work targeting properties of known rogue landlords that have been identified through previous and on-going compliance work.

Bernard Priest, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Immigrants can be vulnerable to unscrupulous landlords where housing conditions are poor and often exacerbated by subletting. This also means that immigrants can find it harder to integrate fully into Manchester life and contribute to the city’s economy.

“We welcome this funding as it will allow us to continue our targeted approach to rogue landlords operating in the private rented sector – in particular flats located above shops – and help improve safety, living conditions, and in turn the wider community.”