CIEH welcomes publication of new research on criminality in the private rented sector

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has welcomed the publication of four new reports from a major research project on criminality in the private rented sector.

The research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and published by the University of York, in collaboration with the Universities of Northumbria and Sheffield and the renter advocacy service Safer Renting, highlights the ways in which criminal landlords can exploit the vulnerabilities of tenants at the bottom end of the market.

The four reports cover enforcement, illegal eviction, landlord-perpetrated tenant abuse and criminality in the rental market.

CIEH housing advisory panel member Janet Wade, representing CIEH at the launch of the reports, congratulated the research team on the scope of the research. She said it was shining a much needed light into the shadows of the private rented sector where criminal landlords exploit the most vulnerable tenants and highlighting the wider power imbalance between landlords and tenants.

She also drew attention to the importance of support for good landlords in the context of the Renters’ Rights Act.

The new report on enforcement refers to the potential of selective licensing schemes for identifying tenants at risk of landlord exploitation. CIEH has consistently promoted licensing as a means for local authorities to inspect privately rented housing using enforceable conditions – and to identify and resolve problems – without the need for the tenant to have complained.

Janet Wade told attendees at the launch that licensing had been a “game changer” for a lot of local authorities in improving property management and conditions.

The four reports can be found on the Understanding criminality in the private rented sector website.

Dr Jill Stewart, another member of the housing advisory panel of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said:

“We welcome these reports as a vitally important contribution to the discussion of this very complex and challenging area of housing policy.

“We look forward to working with the research team to understand the implications of the reports for local authorities and the work of our members.”