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Tenants want irresponsible landlords jailed

Adam Williams
Written By:
Adam Williams
Posted:
Updated:
23/09/2015

Almost three-quarters of Brits believe landlords who commit housing offences should be handed jail terms.

Research conducted by polling organisation YouGov found that half of all people in Britain considered rogue landlords a serious issue.

They agree that landlords who commit offences should face jail terms, along with 21% who do not agree that it is a major issue but would like to see rogues jailed.

However, one-in-four people said they would prefer penalties other than prison sentences to be handed to bad landlords.

Britain’s continuing housing crisis was highlighted by recent figures published by the National Housing Federation. An estimated 974,000 needed to be built in the last three years, however data showed just 457,490 were completed.

Many blame landlords for these problems, with the Local Government Association saying those who are “creating misery” for tenants should not be just fined but also jailed.

YouGov said the polling had attracted a range of comments from tenants and landlords themselves. One said that “most landlords do it for the money so instead of adding to the over-crowding and cost of jail, punishment should hit the pocket and could include forfeiture of the property”, and “I say all this as a landlord”.

Another said that “for repeat offenders jail should be an option”. However, some landlords asked for greater protection against bad tenants.


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