The new North Yorkshire Council has been awarded £1.4 million from the government to help improve housing conditions and tackle rogue landlords in the county.
The funding - from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities through the Pathfinder Programme - will be used to improve housing conditions and increase enforcement activity by recruiting additional housing officers as well as building closer links with organisations involved in the sector.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said. “This successful bid shows how the new council is focused on delivering a united housing service for all of North Yorkshire.
“Being able to recruit and train new and current staff is just one way in which this funding will support the housing service.
“Improving and increasing enforcement activity through inspections and joint working with partners will allow us to work together to ensure that residents in North Yorkshire are safe.”
North Yorkshire Council launched on Saturday (April 1), when North Yorkshire County Council and the seven district and borough authorities merged. In preparation for the new council, officers involved in housing services across the authorities worked together to secure the funding, which will allow the service to create a centralised approach to housing enforcement.
The approach will include developing a new enforcement policy, allowing the council to investigate and tackle housing issues more effectively.
Increasing the number of housing officers will allow the new authority to recruit and train up to nine new employees to work alongside the current staff.
It is also hoped that the new housing strategy will improve relationships and joint working with partners such as the National Residential Landlords Association.
The recruitment process for the new posts for housing enforcement officers is now under way. The new recruits will be stationed across the county within the next couple of months to provide a co-ordinated approach to tackling housing issues.
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