New powers to protect the people of Leeds from profit hungry landlords

12.00.00am GMT Thu 28th Jan 2010

Yesterday (27 January), Housing and Planning Minister John Healey announced new powers for local councils to control the spread of shared private rented housing.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (or HMOs) have been rapidly spreading through Leeds in recent years. Councillors and local residents in Headingley have serious concerns about the growing number and bad condition of private rented accommodation in their community.

The new legislation announced yesterday will mean that from April private landlords will first have to apply for planning permission in order to create a new HMO.

Cllr Martin Hamilton, (Lib Dem, Headingley) said:

"We have been campaigning to get these powers for years now so this is a great victory for us. We now have greater control of private landlords who want to take-up more of our family housing stock in Headingley. These new powers are a result of 10 years of campaigning from community groups in our area. Their persistance has paid off."

"We also welcome the proposals for a new national landlord register. We hear many horror stories about poor quality accommodation and landlords not repaying deposits. A clear record of who owns which properties would make an enormous difference to tenants who rightly expect not to be ripped off."