Ashford Borough Council has invited nearly 300 private sector landlords who rent out properties in the area to attend a virtual summit next month on a host of key issues - crucially how to avoid "a flood" of people being made homeless as pandemic rules come to an end.

The council has teamed up with the National Residential Landlords Association to organise the event which will take place on June 8.

Sharon Williams, head of housing at the local authority, said top of the agenda is working with landlords to find workable alternatives to evicting tenants.

She explained: "At the start of the pandemic, the government curbed the ability of private sector landlords to evict tenants. That halt to evictions comes to an end on May 31 and the council has been working to try and ensure we don’t see a flood of people made homeless.

“The aim was to provide accommodation security to people made redundant or furloughed by employers hit by the recession caused by the pandemic. Our officers have been supporting landlords and agents with any tenants who are struggling to pay their rent or any other issues regarding the impact of the pandemic.

“We are using this forum to reach out again to landlords and agents, to explain how we can help and provide advice on negotiating rent arrears and what to do if customers are struggling to pay the landlord.”

Other issues include new electrical safety regulations which carry a £30,000 fine if not met. Marion Money, the South East representative from the National Residential Landlords Association, will use the forum to update landlords on upcoming changes to the law that will impact on their business.

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