UK crackdown on NRI 8216;criminal landlords8217;

Britain has allocated 1.8 million pounds as part of steps to crackdown on landlords

Britain has allocated 1.8 million pounds as part of steps to crackdown on landlords 8211; many of them of Indian-origin 8211; who construct illegal extensions to their houses and rent them out to illegal immigrants at extortionate rates in parts of London and elsewhere.

Considered hazardous with slum-like conditions,the extensions 8211; called 8216;beds in sheds8217; 8211; have often been in the news for the large number of illegal immigrants who live in them in cramped conditions,particularly in areas such as Ealing,Hounslow and Slough.

After forming a taskforce to deal with the situation earlier this month,Housing Minister Grant Shapps has allocated 1.8 million pounds to councils in which such 8216;renting8217; takes place.

The taskforce include officials of the UK Border Agency.

Reports on the 8216;beds in sheds8217; have mostly identified the 8216;tenants8217; as Indian citizens who are in the country illegally,and turn to landlords of Indian origin with settled status to provide them shelter.

In the process,such 8216;tenants8217; face exploitation and are unable to approach authorities due to their own illegal immigration status.

Shapps promised 8220;Criminal landlords trapping vulnerable people in 8216;suburban shanty-towns8217; will get the justice they deserve8221;,and said the fund will help 8220;tackle the problem head-on and end this growing practice by ruthless landlords8221;.

Shapps appealed to councils who may have turned a blind eye in the past to 8216;beds in sheds8217;,to use this funding and the range of powers at their disposal,to tackle the issue.

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Explaining the situation,a release from Shapps office said: 8220;8216;Beds in sheds8217; are often rented to migrants,including some with no right to be in the UK,at extortionate rates.

Their foreign 8216;tenants8217; often find it difficult to return home quickly after destroying their passports to avoid removal8221;.

It added: 8220;With few other options,they will put up with cramped conditions,dodgy wiring and poor sanitation as an alternative to life on the streets8221;.

Shapps said that the 1.8 million pounds fund would help the worst affected councils 8220;flush out those who exploit migrants at their most vulnerable8221;.

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The councils identified are: Brent,Ealing,Hillingdon,Hounslow,Newham,Peterborough,Redbridge,Slough,and Southwark.

Shapps said: 8220;I8217;m determined to flush out criminal landlords who think they can make an easy buck from cramped,cockroach-ridden outhouses.

The scandal of 8216;beds in sheds8217; must come to an end8221;.

He added: 8220;In the 21st century it simply isn8217;t acceptable that people should be forced to live in such squalid and unsanitary conditions. That8217;s why I8217;ve allocated 1.8 million pounds to help councils in the worst affected areas crack down on this cruel exploitation8221;.

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Shapps said that the taskforce,including the police,councils,the UK Border Agency and Revenue and Customs were pooling their resources to bring the so-called landlords of 8216;beds in sheds8217; to justice.

8220;I want anyone stuck in these suburban shanty towns to know that help is at hand and they will not be abandoned,8221; he added.