Agenda item

Hilary Tanner, Adviser, introduced this item and provided the Board with information on some of the challenges for councils and summarised recent changes to rented housing regulation.

Hilary mentioned the strong anecdotal evidence which suggested an increase in the number of houses subdivided to maximise rental income and noted the significant impact this can have on councils in relation to increased flytipping and antisocial behaviour.

It was also reported that the private rented sector has the largest proportion of non-decent homes and the highest number of older properties compared to other tenures. The estimated cost of bringing all privately rented homes up to standard is £8 billion (on average £7,700 per property). The Board noted that making the improvements compulsory could lead to landlords simply stopping renting out the property.

Hilary stressed that a source of frustration for council enforcement officers is that they cannot easily identify the landlord of a rented property. A national register of landlords has been proposed by many organisations and exists in Scotland. The Board requested that officers undertake a review of Scotland’s national register of landlords and bring this to a future Board meeting.

Discussion

In the discussion which followed, these points were made:

·         Members raised the issue of the lack of implementation of The Housing and Planning Act 2016, especially the power for councils to seek a banning order for landlords and letting agents. Hilary informed the Board that the LGA expects the implementation of banning orders to happen by April 2018.

·         The Board expressed interest in the work the Scottish Government has done in implementing policies regarding the security of tenure for private rented housing. The Board requested officers provide a review of the Scottish policy.

·         Members noted that distinct areas within the private rented sector such as student housing and retirement living link with other forms of social policy.

Decision

Officers to undertake a review of Scotland’s national register of landlords and bring findings to a future Board meeting.

Officers to undertake a review of Scotland’s security of tenure policy for private tenants.

The Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board agreed to support the proposals in the report.