CROOKED landlords whose properties fall below legal standards could be fined up to £30,000 in a clampdown announced by Oxford City Council.

It hopes to inspect 700 homes every year which it suspects might contain the most dangerous flaws – up from 250 currently.

It already has a licensing and inspection system for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) but its new plan will also cover privately rented homes.

Those 3,000 houses make up about 70 per cent of the homes rented in the city.

The council will be looking to stop tenants suffering the most serious 'category one' hazards in their homes, which include broken steps at the top of stairs, exposed wiring, a dangerous boiler or a leaking roof.

It has said it will look to inspect all rented properties which it suspects could contain category one hazards, over five years.

Executive board member for planning and regulatory services, councillor Alex Hollingsworth, said: “30 per cent of Oxford’s housing is in the private rented sector, and for many people in Oxford it’s the best way of finding a home.

"The substantial majority of Oxford’s private sector landlords provide good quality homes for their tenants.

“However there are a few who don’t, and these few give the whole sector a bad name.

"We are determined to deal with poor landlords and agents who try to avoid addressing inadequate and dangerous housing conditions.”

To manage the increased number of inspections that it will carry out, it will employ two new environmental health officers.

Currently the council employs 10 environmental health officers to monitor housing conditions.

Powers to allow councils to impose civil fines of up to £30,000 on rogue landlords were announced by the Government last year as an alternative to criminal prosecutions.

The council has already worked out which flaws in homes would result in the heaviest financial penalties, dependent on the level of harm and potential danger caused to tenants.

By law all of the money from any penalties would then be ploughed back into council funds to improve standards.

Mr Hollingsworth added: “Civil penalties will support a ramping up of the enforcement programme to 700 inspections a year, targeted at the worst housing. "Civil penalties are not a soft alternative to prosecution, and we will use them to drive up standards in the private rented sector.

“Taking this approach means that it is only the worst landlords and agents who will bear the cost of better enforcement, not landlords as a whole.”

Scrutinising the plan at a meeting on Thursday, the city council's housing panel said it wanted to be presented with details of the plan in a year to evaluate its success.

Mr Hollingsworth said no target number for landlords that need to be fined will be set and that the scheme is focussed solely on inspecting 700 homes annually.