Councillors call for more housing inspections after finding 14 people in two up two down home

RMBC scrutinised its selective licensing policy earlier this month, and made a number of recommendations, including prioritising re-inspection for landlords whose properties have previosuly required action.

The policy is in place across Eastwood, Maltby, Masbrough and Parkgate, meaning that landlords must hold a licence in these areas, and are subject to property inspections by RMBC.

A report found that there is ‘a shortage of experienced inspectors’ – and a Conservative councillor says ‘residents are suffering’ as 1,300 houses have not been inspected.

Councillor Adam Tinsley told Wednesday’s (November 29) full council meeting: “We don’t know how many inspections… have been carried out. Failure to deliver inspections and any subsequent enforcement work will carry a significant risk to residents and poor housing conditions and associated health problems will not be addressed.

“Usually these houses will be inspected twice in a five year period. The last figures were 1,300 houses which hadn’t been inspected.

“I’ve been in properties where there’s no ceilings, there’s water coming through lights, and we think this report addresses that – the recommendation doesn’t look to get back on top of these report numbers and it’s disgraceful.

“We’re not addressing the issue and residents are suffering.”

Independent councillor Ian Jones added: “I expected to be able to see some tangible evidence of these kinds of schemes raising the standards of the households that we look at.”

Coun Jones added that the policy ‘hadn’t done anything to raise standards whatsoever’ in his Rotherham West ward, and that ‘very few inspections were undertaken in time’.

“We’re getting properties that are being rented out to families at £1,600 a month, and they have now got 14 people in a two up two down property that’s got mould in it,” he said.

Labour councillor Ken Wyatt told the meeting that the policy that the review wasn’t ‘going to be the answer to all the issues that exist in the private rented sector’.

“This is never going to be job completed. There’s still got to be a work in progress and there are resource implications in staffing and expertise.”