LANDLORDS of squalid or dangerous private housing would be forced to improve their homes or be slapped with huge fines under a Labour government, the party pledges tomorrow.

Labour is promising to “put bad landlords out of business” when in government by launching a new charter of renters’ rights.

It would include making landlords carry out annual “property MOTs” to ensure they are fit for habitation. They would be liable to fines of up to £100,000 or refunding rent to tenants if they fail to have their properties inspected or leave them in disrepair.

The “MOT” scheme, recommended by University of York academics, would be independently carried out and overseen by councils acting as enforcement authorities.

More than a million households in the private sector each pay an average rent of £759 a month – more than £10 billion a year collectively – to live in homes classed as “non-decent” due to damp, cold, and disrepair, according to Labour’s analysis of English Housing Survey data.

The “MOT” policy would be in conjunction with Labour’s already-released pledges to cap private rents, increase housing benefit, protect tenants from unfair eviction and establish more secure “open-ended” tenancies.

The legislation would be introduced by the party in the first Queen’s Speech of a new Labour government with the view to pass the Bill within a year.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Labour will be on the side of tenants and take on dodgy landlords who have been given free rein for too long.

“Real change means taking on those who exploit the housing crisis to charge eye-watering rents for substandard accommodation.

“Labour will put power in the hands of tenants with our new charter of renters’ rights, a cap on private rents and funding for renters unions to support tenants to organise and defend their right to safe and secure housing.”

Out of all families with children in England, one in four now rent privately, and 1.7 million private renters pay more than a third of their income in rents.

Since 2010, the private rented sector has grown by over one million households.

Shadow housing secretary John Healey said: “The power imbalance in the private rental market is at the heart of our housing crisis, with rents eating up too much of people’s pay, tenants afraid of eviction if they report problems, and families with children forced to uproot their lives at short notice.
 
“Many landlords provide decent homes that tenants are happy with, but the Conservatives have gifted rogue landlords the freedom to flourish. Labour will put bad landlords out of business.”