Banning orders to be approved after rise in “unregulated landlords” advertising Rotherham properties through social media

The order is set to be approved at RMBC’s next cabinet meeting on April 25.

If approved, landlords could be banned from renting out residential properties if found guilty of offences including unlawful eviction, harassment, overcrowding, and fire or gas safety offences.

If approved, RMBC can pursue banning orders by making an application to the First-Tier Tribunal which will decide the application based on a number of factors.

Breaching a banning order could see the individual handed a custodial sentence of up to 51 weeks, an unlimited fine or both.

The individual would also be banned from engaging in letting agency or property management work.

When a banning order is approved, the individual is also prohibited from transferring assets, including to their family or associates.

A banning order must be for a minimum period of 12 months, and there is no maximum period.

A report to cabinet states that the council has seen: “An increase in unregulated and /or unaccredited agents and landlords advertising rented properties through social media, without any appropriate letting background.

“A number of landlords have now, as a result of Selective Licensing, been found to be in breach of relevant legislation.

“This policy will offer the Council the means to take action against landlords and agents who have been convicted of certain offences, and who routinely offer poor housing, often to the poorest and most vulnerable in society.”