Call to make recruiters responsible for housing migrant workers safelyBy Tom Wall
Government anti-slavery bodies have pointed to a “gap” in the law that lets employment agencies who take on migrant workers avoid responsibility for helping them find safe housing. The call comes after it emerged that workers crammed into a dangerous disused showroom in north Wales had been suggested the accommodation by one of the UK’s biggest employment agencies. Read more. Local councils guilty of 'softly, softly approach' to rogue landlordsBy Tom Wall
Councils are taking a “softly, softly” approach to rogue landlords, with only about a quarter of complaints regarding substandard housing leading to inspections, it has emerged. On Tuesday MPs voted down an amendment to the housing bill which would have forced landlords to ensure homes were fit for habitation, with the government arguing that councils already had adequate power to deal with problem property owners. Read more. The Coward - launch at Bookmarks bookshopThe rogue landlord files
My rogue landlord database below lists every prosecution under the Housing Act 2004 between 2006 and 2014 - although only half of the landlords are named . It is compiled by English and Welsh courts for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) but there is a considerable amount of missing data.
Convicted landlords revealedA database containing the names of hundreds of convicted private landlords has been made public for the first time following EHN’s landmark legal victory over the Ministry of Justice and Information Commissioner.
A tribunal ordered the government to release the data in April after EHN appealed on public interest grounds. The database shows that 2,006 individuals and companies – half of whom are named - were fined nearly £3m for housing offences under the Housing Act 2004 between 2006 and 2014. Read more. |
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