A PILOT initiative to improve standards of privately-rented housing is proving so successful it could be rolled out across the whole of County Durham.

A landlord accreditation scheme is being tried out in South Moor and New Kyo, near Stanley, and plans to extend it across the county are to go before Durham County Council’s Cabinet on November 19.

Under the scheme, private landlords are asked to meet agreed standards that have been checked and verified by council staff - with the aim of improving the standards of properties and the way they are managed.

It also provides more support for tenants, enables landlords to request references for prospective tenants, offer landlords advice and a single point of contact if they have any issues, as well as make sure property standards are maintained and improved.

The pilot scheme has been running in the Stanley area for the last 10 weeks and so far 20 landlords and four agents have signed up, making a total of 191 properties.

If agreed, the countywide landlord accreditation scheme would come into effect from April.

Councillor Eddie Tomlinson, cabinet member for housing, said: “A landlord accreditation scheme for Durham would be a positive alternative to the selective licensing programme.

“We estimate that the accreditation scheme will ultimately become self-financing and will offer a number of benefits to landlords, tenants and the local community by improving the condition of properties and how they are managed.”

These plans comes after a significant increase in the private rented sector - according to the 2011 census there were 282,803 occupied households in County Durham, of which 12.6 per cent were privately rented.