The private rented sector is a significant component of the housing market within Dudley borough, being home to many families and offering a range of housing options to residents - some wanting the short-term flexibility it can offer while others it is a long-term home for their family.
- The Council regulates the private rented sector operating within the borough to ensure homes are safe, well managed, and maintained to a good condition. Prompt enforcement action is taken against private landlords that choose not to.
- The private rented sector in the borough accounts for 12% of all homes and has doubled in size over the past decade. In a recent report by the Building Research Establishment (known as the BRE), they estimated that 15% of privately rented homes present a risk to its occupants’ health & safety by containing a statutory category 1 hazard, which includes excess cold and disrepair, and 4.5% have a low energy rating meaning they are expensive to heat and keep warm due to a lack of insulated cavity walls, adequate loft insulation, and double glazing.
- The BRE also estimated that there were around 2,200 privately rented houses that were in multiple occupation (known as HMOs). The Council licenses HMOs where at least 5 tenants live there, forming more than one household but share facilities like a kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. Conditions of HMO licenses include minimum room standards and are set out in the Council’s policy on ‘HMO Property and Management Standards’. Licences can be withdrawn for non-compliance.
