‘What can a landlord do?’ Criminal landlords and techniques of neutralisation

This article draws on neutralisation theory to explore the accounts of landlords involved in law-breaking in England and Wales. The private rented sector (PRS) in England and Wales and elsewhere has long been considered a space which can foster vulnerability and exploitation by bad actors. These actors include criminal landlords who may engage in illegal evictions, letting unsuitable accommodation, and complicity in cannabis cultivation or sexual exploitation by those renting their properties. While previous research has documented the challenges of policing the PRS, there is a dearth of scholarship engaging directly with criminal landlords. This article addresses this research gap, drawing on 16 interviews with landlords who have broken the law to develop understandings of how these actors rationalise and justify their illegal behaviours. In doing so, this article extends existing scholarship on neutralisation theory to a hitherto unexplored group – criminal landlords – and seeks to develop understandings more broadly of vulnerability and criminality in the PRS.