HYNDBURN MP Graham Jones is calling for councils to be given greater powers to tackle poor landlords.

Mr Jones said that, although responsibilities for housing fall upon councils, they do not have adequate resources.

Mr Jones said he was calling for landlord licensing, similar to a scheme in Accrington, to be rolled out nationally.He said: “The powers and responsibilities for dealing with unacceptably-poor standards in the private rented sector lie with our councils. They are the people who must inspect, report, and prosecute landlords who do not meet their legal requirements.

“The law is not enforced because local authorities lack the means to do so. The government’s position is that the existing legal framework is sufficient.

“There is a local answer that could go part way to solving this problem, and that is to extend selective licensing of private landlords to allow local authorities to apply decency conditions in areas with a high concentration of poor- quality housing stock.

“Currently, selective licensing can only be applied to areas on the basis of low demand, or high levels of anti-social behaviour.”