Wiltshire Landlords urged to be up to speed with new rules ahead of Renters' Rights Act becoming law
Local authorities will have strengthened powers to tackle rogue landlords
Wiltshire Council is encouraging all landlords across the county to make sure they're prepared for new rental laws coming into action in May.
The Renters' Rights Act becomes law next month and local councils are being given financial support by the Government to ensure they're ready to tackle those flouting the rules.
£140,000 is being used by Wiltshire Council to create two new roles to aid their boosted powers and responsibilities under the new act, with local authorities having a legal obligation to ensure landlords are following the rules which ban bidding wars and no-fault evictions.
Landlords will also face tougher penalties, with fines of up to £40,000 for serious or repeated law breaches. Current fines are capped at £10,000.
The Government funding will see an Enforcement Officer for the private rental sector created at each authority, including Wiltshire, alongside a business analyst who will be collecting data and feeding that back to central Government.
Cabinet Member for Public Health, Cllr Clare Cape, said: "The enforcement officer will strengthen the council's ability to investigate concerns and take action where standards are not being met, which is obviously important because renters have rights to be able to take that kind of action so it's important that we are able to respond."
Having the right information
The council is working with landlords to ensure everyone is up to speed once the new rules come in.
Webinars are being held with aim of strengthening landlords understanding of the new laws and their duties to make sure tenants are getting the safest and best quality housing possible.
On the 21st April, a webinar is being held to provide landlords the right information, before a similar event on 6th May regarding damp and mould, before an in person event in Chippenham on 28th May for Tenancy Agreements, deposits, Section 8s, HMOs, gas and electrical safety, inventories and more.
Cllr Cape said it's critical landlords have the best information available to them so they can support tenants as well as they can.
"The council will be providing guidance on the website for both tenants and landlords, so both sides of the agreements can be well understood.
"There's obviously rights for tenants and responsibilities for landlords. And we know that people want to do a good job if they possibly can. And sometimes it's just a matter of having the right information available."
Dealing with concerns
Cllr Cape urged tenants experiencing difficulties to speak to their landlords about the problem in the first instance.
She said that is the "fair way" to go about rectifying the problems, but added that the council would be the next port of call with their strengthened powers to tackle rogue landlords, should an issue not be resolved.
Cllr Cape admitted there is unlikely to be a huge amount of financial support available, but advice will be offered to tenants and landlords in an effort to solve any concerns.
"I would advise both tenants and landlords to make use of the Warm and Safe Wiltshire advice," she said. "Very often it can be things like just making sure that your home is properly ventilated and heated sufficiently to avoid the mould building up."
She added that it's very important people look for and take the right advice and do what they can to fix any issues.