The Local Government Authority is calling for the legal process to be sped up to bring more illegal eviction cases to court.
The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils across England and Wales, said that while there had been a number of recent successful prosecutions, the legal process needed to be faster as it can take more than a year to take a rogue landlord to court.
Councillor Peter Box of the LGA said: “An extra £5 million funding from government to help councils tackle rogue landlords as well as proposals in the Housing and Planning Bill for a database of rogue landlords and to allow councils to levy fines up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution, are an important step forward.
“However, any database should be properly resourced and the legal process in relation to prosecutions should be speeded up so that, where appropriate, illegal eviction cases can be brought more quickly to court.”
Recent council prosecutions include:
In Birmingham, a landlord was prosecuted for illegally evicting a couple and their seven children from their home, changing the locks and shoving the family into the garage. The offence cost him more than £2,000;
Also in Birmingham, a landlord was forced to pay more than £5,000 after illegally evicting a mother and her 11-year-old son, putting her belongings in the garden and changing the locks. When she regained access using a locksmith he had the locks drilled out, leaving her too scared to stay at the property;
In North East Lincolnshire, a landlord received a suspended prison sentence after a tenant returned to the flat to find the locks changed and some possessions removed. The landlord said he thought the tenant had left the property;
In Middlesbrough, a landlord was given a 12-month community order after forcing her way into a home and evicting a family with young children, bundling their possessions into black bags;
In Manchester, a landlord was fined £3,500 after removing a family illegally and making them homeless.
The LGA said the recent prosecutions show local authorities won’t allow unscrupulous landlords to bully tenants out of their homes.
“When relationships break down between tenants and landlords there are strict legal processes that have to be followed and council officers are here to help both sides move forward,” said Box.
“No landlord can act outside the law and councils will do everything in their powers to ensure tenants can live in rented properties safe in the knowledge that local authorities are there to protect them from illegal eviction,” he added.
The government recently announced £5 million of extra funding to help councils tackle rogue landlords. It will pay for more raids, inspections of properties, statutory notices and also allow councils to root out the so-called ‘beds in sheds’ – the illegal makeshift bedrooms in garages and outhouses.
It is part of a package of measures in the Housing and Planning Bill that includes a new database of rogue landlords and property agents convicted of certain offences, banning orders for the most serious offenders and civil penalties of up to £30,000.
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