“No one should live in unsafe or unsuitable housing,” said Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms as the government widened its crackdown on rogue landlords. The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed the scheme now covers 41 councils and will better protect around 400,000 households on housing support, many of them here in the North.

Central to the move is a quicker, legal route for councils to claim back housing support via Rent Repayment Orders. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, councils can now seek up to 24 months of rent where landlords run unlicensed homes, ignore improvement notices or leave tenants in damp, mouldy conditions - double the previous 12‑month limit.

For Northern readers, the expansion takes in Leeds, Rotherham, North Lincolnshire and Calderdale in Yorkshire and the Humber; Wigan and Sefton in the North West; and County Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Gateshead, Northumberland and Darlington in the North East. These areas will be able to move faster on repeat offenders.

The practical change is data. Local authorities get streamlined access to Universal Credit information needed to complete applications, cutting delays that previously stalled cases. It means councils can evidence payments made during an offence period and take stronger cases to a tribunal.

The three‑council pilot showed how it works. In Camden, North London, the council has already recovered nearly £100,000 in housing support and made a fraud referral using the data‑sharing powers, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. Ministers say recovered money can be ploughed back into enforcement.

Justice for Tenants welcomed the approach, saying the pilot proves councils can deter criminality in the private rented sector and make those who break the law shoulder more of the cost. The group called it “a massive win for all law‑abiding landlords, tenants receiving public funds, the NHS, and every taxpayer in the country”.

For law‑abiding landlords, officials are keen to stress this is about targeting the minority who cut corners. For renters on benefits, the change should mean quicker action when properties are unsafe and, crucially, less public money propping up poor standards.

The scheme is led by the Department for Work and Pensions and supported by the housing department. Alongside the 24‑month limit, ministers say the streamlined data route strengthens councils’ hands on unlicensed HMOs and serious management failures that put tenants at risk.

Enfield, where nearly 30,000 households receive housing support, is among the new areas joining the scheme, underlining its national spread. But with older private stock and tighter budgets, the North stands to gain from faster casework and money reclaimed from rule‑breaking landlords.

Camden Council leader Cllr Richard Olszewski said the pilot helps the borough “take further action against rogue landlords and regain the public money they wrongly pocketed”, with funds reinvested into enforcement and improving private sector conditions. Northern councils will look to deliver similar results.

The government frames the aim simply: protect tenants, protect taxpayers and drive up standards. With winter damp setting in, the timing matters. The proof will be in the cases councils now bring - and the homes that are finally made safe.