The law would effectively see landlords being prosecuted for participating in organised crime should they fail to report any suspicions that the premises are being used for criminal purposes.
Lawmakers say that the new bill is mainly aimed at professionals who turn a blind eye when working with organised crime gangs and then claim to be unaware of their client's criminal activities.
The government's organised crime minister, Karen Bradley, said: “For too long accountants, lawyers and other professionals have evaded justice by hiding behind their respectability.
“Nobody is above the law which will send out a clear message that if you help oil the wheels of organised crime then you will be prosecuted and face jail.”
Landlords face new organised crime law
The Home Office has confirmed that private residential landlords will be covered by the new law if it could be proved that they had any reason to suspect that their property was being used for criminal activity.
The announcement of the new law comes at the same time as police warn landlords to check their properties to ensure who is living there after one landlord was shocked to find his flat in West London was being used as a brothel.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “The landlord had no idea of what was happening and was not involved but the incident highlights the need for landlords to keep a close eye on their property and to check what is happening in it.”
The Home Office has also issued warnings in the past year about the growing problem of tenancy using rental properties as cannabis farms which leads to expensive damage to the property which the landlord then asked to pay for.
Charity calls for letting fees to be banned
Meanwhile, the charity Shelter is relaunching its campaign to have the letting fees banned in England.
The organisation says that the ban on the fees would have no negative impact on landlords, tenants or letting agencies. Shelter says that high letting fees push around 25% of tenants into debt and they point to the Scottish ban which began in 1984 and was reinforced in 2012.
A survey in Scotland has revealed that two thirds of letting agents say the ban had no impact while 54% said that the ban was actually positive for the rental sector.
