New legislation to regulate private landlords would reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
Areas where a lot of people live in private-rented accommodation will be less likely to suffer crime and anti-social behaviour if new legislation to regulate private landlords is approved by Parliament this week.
A Private Member’s Bill tabled by Phil Wilson, MP for Sedgefield, would make it compulsory for all private landlords to sign up to a national register. One key benefit of this would be that the Police, Local Authorities and other service providers would know who to contact when there are issues with environmental damage, anti-social behaviour and crime locally.
Commenting on the draft legislation, Durham’s Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner Ron Hogg said “When Police are carrying out investigations, so much time can be lost trying to identify who owns the property where suspects are living. A mandatory registration scheme for private landlords would make a significant difference to resolving crimes, and I believe it would also act as a deterrent because offenders would know there would be a greater likelihood of them being caught.”
Mandatory registers are already in place in Scotland and Wales, and some Local Authorities have also introduced mandatory schemes across their area.
