Westminster Councillors want compulsory register of private landlords

Labour Councillors in Westminster want a compulsory register of private landlords to be established. It was found that  in 2011-12, 1,712  private sector rented properties sector were inspected by Westminster's residential environmental health officers resulting in 206 legal notices were served. Council officers revealed that they removed 771 hazards in the properties, including causes of excess cold, dampness, and fire and fall hazards in homes. As a result of the inspections, 111 shared houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) were improved, 461 homes were made fit and there were 7 prosecutions.

As a Council, Westminster is responsible for one of the largest private rented sectors in the UK, with about 40% of the 109,000 homes in the borough, according to recent census results.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said;

"The scale of the problems found by the Council's inspectors is very worrying and there are strong arguments for the Council to establish a compulsory landlord registration scheme so that all landlords have to meet certain basic standards before they are allowed to let property. Westminster has the highest concentration of private flats in the UK and proper regulation is needed if tenants are to be properly protected from the minority of bad landlords."