Landlords face yet another battering after a scathing report urged Government to introduce mandatory licensing, extra fees and annual inspections to stamp out slum conditions.
Dr Julie Rugg, a leading housing academic at York University, claims all rented homes in England should be subject to yearly ‘property MoT’ tests to tackle a rise in sub-standard living conditions.
She argues that Government regulations around the private rented sector are out of date and in need of ‘radical revision’ with conditions in rented properties poor in relation to other types of home.
And she says a legally enforceable register for landlords is needed to tackle this.