Ministers have announced that local authorities will be able to access almost £4m in new funding, as part of what it describes as a “crackdown on criminal landlords”.
A £4m fund launched to help local authorities tackle rogue landlords has been blasted as "nowhere near enough" by the Residential Landlords Association.
The association welcomed the funding which was launched as part of what the government describes as a “crackdown on criminal landlords” but said the amount simply is not enough to properly find and root out the crooks.
David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, said: “We welcome the government’s focus on rooting out criminal landlords.
"For too long the debate has been driven by ideological calls for more regulation of the sector.
"What is needed is better enforcement of the powers already available to root out the minority who bring the sector into disrepute.
“That said, today’s funding is simply not enough to achieve this.
"Rather than throwing odd bits of cash around the government needs to provide proper, multi-year funding to councils to enable them to plan and prepare clear strategies to find the crooks whilst supporting good landlords.
"This includes ensuring enough funding is in place to recruit sufficient numbers of well-trained enforcement officers.”
