Know your rights: Council’s innovative drive to help private tenants and landlords
Tuesday 10 October 2023
The rights and responsibilities of private tenants throughout Mid and East Antrim are being promoted through a new campaign by Council.
Landlords, letting agents and community groups came together for the launch of the new scheme at Ballymena Showgrounds recently.
A series of short, animated, educational videos were showcased to the audience, each setting out what tenants should expect from landlords, as well as what is expected of private tenants when they move into a new home.
It’s hoped that better awareness will in turn, create better relations between tenants, their landlords and their communities.
The campaign comes shortly after changes in housing law, through the introduction of The Private Tenancies Act (NI) 2022, that came into effect earlier this year.
Council worked in partnership with the Inter-Ethnic Forum to provide multilingual versions of the videos to ensure the valuable information is accessible to all.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Alderman Gerardine Mulvenna, commended the approach.
She said: “This is excellent work by Council’s Public Health and Housing Team, working closely with partners, including the Inter-Ethnic Forum.
“These videos will be a crucial resource to educate, inform and support private tenants, as well as assisting landlords and letting agents. They’ve also been created to be easily shared so as many people as possible are reached.
“We have ensured the videos are bite-sized, with clear messaging and advice, and they will be an important tool moving forward, supporting the good work that is already under way within our Borough to build on positive relations within our community.”
The videos can be viewed in the housing section of Council’s website.