All aboard for tenant and landlord advice in Birmingham
Cllr John Cotton
Staff from Birmingham City Council’s private rented services team are taking an information bus out to Erdington, Soho and Cape Hill next week to help tenants and landlords find out about the support that’s available to them.
Birmingham City Council cabinet member for Neighbourhood Management and Homes, Cllr John Cotton, said: “Britain’s private rented sector has increased dramatically over the last few years for a number of reasons, not least being the high cost of housing.
“Although people know that the council is responsible for social housing they might not know that we are also committed to increasing access to affordable and decent homes.
“One part of this is support for the Private Rented Sector and we have a team of professionals on hand to advise both tenants and landlords through changes in the law and what to do if there is a breakdown in the landlord/tenant relationship.”
The bus tour will visit the following venues from 8.30am to 3.30pm –
- Tuesday 29 September – Erdington High Street, near the Co-Op supermarket
- Wednesday 30 September – Soho, Summerfield supermarket car park
- Thursday 1 October – Grove Lane, Cape Hill, Smethwick, McDonalds car park (staff from Sandwell Council will also be on board as it is on the border of Birmingham and Sandwell)
On board the bus staff will be on hand with information about:
- Let to Birmingham, the West Midlands first social lettings agency, matching tenants with landlords and offering private landlords a wide range of services
- Licenses and rules for multiple occupancy housing
- The empty properties team which has helped to bring approximately 200 empty properties back into use since April this year
- Tenancy rights and obligations including successful prosecutions against landlords acting illegally
- The Letting Agents and Property Redress Scheme which deals with complaints made by tenants or landlords about agents
- Lettings agencies and property management
- The Tenancy Deposit Scheme which offers a free dispute resolution service for tenants and landlords
- Criminal prosecution cases against landlords who run or manage unlicensed multiple occupancy housing
- Fire safety in privately rented premises
- The government’s right to rent checks which requires landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants.
The tour takes place during Private Rented Sector Week which runs from 29 September to Friday 2 October.
The week culminates with the West Midlands Landlords and Letting Agents Conference 2015 at Banks Stadium, Bescott, Walsall.
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For further info, interviews and pics of before and after properties brought back into use by the Empty Properties Team, contact Debbie Harrison on 303 3446
