6th Annual Tackling Rogue Landlords Forum

With live events back, we will be kicking off the Forum with interactive icebreakers.

This session will allow you to get to know colleagues from across the sector and explore your key learning objectives for the day.

Expect lots of interaction and an opportunity to restart your face-to-face networking experience.

This session will discuss the PRS White Paper, and it’s impact on strategies for tackling rogue landlords.

Leeds City Council’s Rogue Landlords Unit works with other agencies throughout Leeds to target properties associated with organised crime groups. This session will cover:

• How tackling rogue landlords relates to tackling organised crime, including human trafficking, the drugs trade, and terrorism
• Best practice for developing a “win-win” system for information sharing that benefits all services involved
• Examples highlighting the impact this approach has had on organised crime and rogue landlords in Leeds

Plans for a national registration scheme for private landlords are expected to be announced in the upcoming White Paper on PRS reform. This session will examine how a national register should be implemented, including:

• How a national register would fit into existing licensing and enforcement frameworks, and the rogue landlords register
• Who would be responsible for maintaining the register and its enforcement
• The role a national register would play in implementing a framework for proactive enforcement against rogue landlords

• Discussing how improving enforcement would drive improved standards in private rental properties and address criminal landlords
• Sharing how to create an environment where landlords don’t fear inspections in order to improve the overall quality of private rental properties
• Highlighting how under-utilised Civil Penalty Powers can be used by local authorities to tackle rogue landlords while raising funds that can be re-invested in enforcement regimes

Safer Renting supports tenants who are victimised by criminal landlords by providing specialist advice, advocacy and support. This session will explore the impact of Covid-19 on tenants, including:

• How the end of the eviction ban and furlough scheme impacted tenants
• Outlining how the kinds of support sought by tenants evolved throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and as lockdown eased
• Sharing best practice for supporting the victims of rogue landlords in your local authority

The Greater London Authority have partnered with Middlesex University London to develop a course to train Local Authority staff in PRS enforcement. This session will cover:

• Why Local Authorities struggle to recruit staff who are qualified to carry out inspections and PRS enforcement
• How to develop a programme of training and CPD to ensure your Local Authority’s workforce are equipped to enforce PRS regulations
• The impact in terms of PRS housing quality of having a well trained workforce who are able to identify issues with properties

Hammersmith & Fulham Council have implemented both mandatory and selective licensing schemes for private landlords, supported by analysis of anti-social behaviour to identify where selective licensing was necessary. This session will cover:

• Best practice for implementing a comprehensive licensing scheme
• How to apply “the Simplex method” to identify areas that would benefit from selective licensing
• How the licensing schemes have improved the PRS in Hammersmith & Fulham

*programme subject to change

In January 2020, Great Yarmouth Borough Council introduced proactive inspections of licensed rental properties. This session will discuss:

• How routine inspections have driven improvements in the quality of private rented housing
• Best practice for implementing an inspections regime alongside a selective licensing
• How Great Yarmouth have continued to identify where selective licensing and inspections are required

• Highlighting the safety implications of substandard living conditions
• Sharing best practice for a multi-agency approach to housing safety
• Examining the role of local authorities in taking a proactive approach to tackling hazards in housing