Rogue landlords who subject tenants to squalid conditions in Walsall have been warned they will be driven out of business.

Since April 2018, the council has issued 131 legal notices against landlords, with 17 progressing to fines adding up to almost £114,000.

Its cabinet has agreed a refreshed housing standards enforcement policy.

Council leader Mike Bird said “rogues” would be tackled “with robust and proportionate action“.

Since 2020, officers have secured 641 improved energy certificates for private rental homes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They have also intervened in 350 cases to ensure landlords provided homes with safe electrical appliances.

Mr Bird said there were “lots of excellent landlords and agents operating in Walsall”, but others “show little or no regard to the law”.

He stated: “We are not prepared to allow landlords who think they can have tenants in substandard property get away with it.”

The leader said the council’s duty was to make sure residents had “the best quality accommodation available, whether that be private or public rented sector”.

He added: “We’re not going to stand by and let people get away with multi-occupation housing which are in squalid conditions, especially as we welcome people from other countries.

“We don’t want them to have the impression Walsall is a place where we dump people.

“These landlords will be driven out, fined and if need be, driven out of business.”