A crackdown on rogue landlords across Medway has been shelved as the council makes a u-turn on a decision made three months ago.

Harsher penalties would have applied to all tenancies across the Towns and would seen fines of up to £30,000 imposed on dishonest property owners whose homes did not meet safety standards, following a council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, May 12.

However, the unitary authority rowed back on its pledge yesterday after the Conservative executives said it would be "too expensive" to enforce and would require greater staff resource. They also voiced concerns about driving responsible landlords out of Medway .

The authority's deputy leader, Cllr Howard Doe (Con), who in mid-May said "the authority will crackdown even harder than before" on rogue property owners, said it was not the right time to press ahead.

During a virtual public meeting yesterday, he said: "We all know enforcement is expensive and the council is unlikely to recover its outlay in such proceedings.

"I am also concerned that over-regulation of some landlords might put the marginal landlords off maintaining their rental properties and they will simply put them on the market and sell them off."

His comments came despite Cllr Doe's own acknowledgement that the reforms would help tenants feel more "reassured" and "safer" in rented properties.

"To then go and have it chucked out on absurd reasons is quite shocking."

Cllr Naushabah Khan (Lab), shadow housing spokesperson for the council, described the u-turn as "ridiculous" and said: "It sounded like there was cross-party consensus on this issue, but to then go and have it chucked out on absurd reasons is quite shocking."

More than 18,000 households across the Towns are in the hands of the private sector, but some rented out accommodation has been described as "unsafe" and "substandard" while others are unlicensed.

Under new laws, private landlords will need to ensure housing met electrical safety standards; the rented out home is occupied under a licensed tenancy and electrical installations are regularly inspected by a qualified worker.

In July, pressure was put on Kent council's cabinet to target specific areas of deprivation in Medway, namely Chatham, River and Luton and Wayfield, where there is low housing demand and higher crime levels.

Cllr Simon Curry (Lab), a member of the business scrutiny committee, told the cabinet the improvements would help drive up housing quality in the private rented sector and help boost the economy.

In addition, Medway Council's head of housing, Mark Bearthwick, in support of the move, advised a formal assessment be carried out on the specific locations suggested by the business scrutiny committee.

However, councillors in the meeting were told the council did not have the resource or allocated budget to manage the enforcement, with initial start up costs expected to be £41,000. This came on the same day they approved £16m for two school expansions.

But, council leader Alan Jarrett (Con) described the move as "sensible" amid the pandemic. On finances, he said: "We know the start point, but we do not know the end point."

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