Leading local authority environmental health professional Neil Marsden is now working alongside one of the UK’s foremost professional bodies for private sector residential landlords.

The Residential Landlords Association - whose members own over 100,000 private rented properties throughout the UK – has engaged Neil as a consultant with responsibilities including local authority liaison, accreditation, housing standards and training development.

“Working with the RLA,” he says, “now provides me with an opportunity to offer more than 30 years experience to help landlords understand and comply with new legislation as efficiently and, hopefully, as painlessly as possible”.

Completing 23 years with Leeds City Council’s as housing and area renewal specialist, Neil spent the last 10 of those in a key policy role for housing standards and, latterly the implementation of changes brought about by the 2004 Housing Act.

As well as being a qualified environmental health officer, in a career spanning four local authorities, his academic achievements include a degree in Environmental Health, an honours degree in Food Science, a Master’s degree in Environmental Pollution Science and a Diploma in Management Studies.

Much of Neil’s work in Leeds has involved setting up the licensing system for ‘houses in multiple occupation’ – the city has more licensable HMOs than any other local authority in the country - and he is a former chairman of the Yorkshire and Humberside HMO Network.

With Leeds being an early pioneer in landlord accreditation schemes, Neil developed and managed the respected Leeds Landlords Accreditation Scheme that has 300 accredited landlords and covers 16,000 bedspaces.

In 2001, in partnership with Leeds Unipol Student Homes, he established and was the first Chairman of the Accreditation Network UK  - which publicises, promotes and shares good practice in the development and operation of accreditation schemes. Last year ANUK launched a national, and now government-approved, Code of Standards for larger student developments which now covers nearly 100,000 bedspaces.

Neil is also a member of the technical advisory group for the government’s new housing team – set up within the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services to advise and guide best practice in the implementation of the Housing Act.

As a onetime landlord Neil has always been a keen supporter of the private rented sector and is a familiar figure on the conference circuit encouraging local authorities to provide support and adopt accreditation schemes.