Councillor 'horrified' by rental property checks

The landlord of a property on Seventh Street, Horden, was prosecuted in 2023 and ordered to pay £15,000

Councillors have been told 15% of property inspections carried out as part of a scheme to tackle bad private landlords found tenants were living in unsatisfactory conditions.

Durham County Council requires landlords to make improvements identified as part of inspections.

One licence was revoked after the landlord was found not to be “fit and proper”, while more than 80 improvement notices have been issued.

Lib Dem councillor Liz Brown told council officers she was “horrified” by the figure.

"It’s quite a frightening number," she said. "It’s terrifying that people are being put into these properties and we don’t know what state they’re in."

'Impact on residents'

The authority’s selective licensing scheme gives it powers to regulate landlords and the management of private rented properties in areas that suffer low housing demand or high levels of anti-social behaviour and deprivation.

The council said it had appointed an anti-social behaviour co-ordinator to liaise with and educate tenants and landlords.

Labour councillor Peter Atkinson said although there were some good landlords, a "band of not so good landlords" was bringing people in from elsewhere.

"We have no idea of their history and all of a sudden we have a spate of anti-social behaviour," he added.

Fellow Labour councillor Alison Batey, of Pelton ward, said: “While I’m concerned about tenants in these properties, I’m also very mindful of the impact on the residents in the wider communities.”