From Keys to Chaos: Lettings Agent Linked to property subject to latest closure order by authorities.....
- teessidetoday
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
Lettings Agents Jackson & Copeland Ltd, operating from Hartlepool's Murray Street uncovered as the company that let out a property in Hartlepool's Duke Street, causing misery to locals.
1st June 2025
A Hartlepool-based lettings agency is facing calls to be investigated by authorities for persistently letting out homes to tenants without undertaking the proper referencing checks, after it's emerged a property located in the towns Duke Street recently shut down by a court order for persistent drug dealing and anti-social behaviour—was being managed by local lettings firm Jackson & Copeland Ltd.
The property subject to the most recent closure order by Hartlepool Borough Council & Cleveland Police is believed to be owned by Mr Kevin Beddow, who Durham & Teesside Today Understands to be previously a director of numerous Hartlepool based property companies around the town. Teesside Magistrates Court last week, as part of a wider crackdown on crime-ridden streets across Hartlepool closed the property for three months following a spate of drug related offences originating from the town centre property.
However, the spotlight's now turned to Mr Jonathan Copeland, head of Jackson & Copeland Ltd, whose firm's been criticised over allegedly failing to carry out adequate background checks on the tenants who occupied the now-shuttered Duke Street property, which locals described as 'a living nightmare', with persistent drug activity, antisocial behaviour, and vehicle crime blighting the neighbourhood.
A Pattern of Neglect
Allegations have surfaced that the appropriate due diligence by Jackson & Copeland Ltd had never been undertaken when the rogue lettings agent handed out the keys to the property in Duke Street to its most recent tenants. A number of Jackson & Copeland Ltd's previous tenants told Durham & Teesside Today that it isn’t the first time Mr Copeland and his 'agency' have come under fire, with reports suggesting he's attracted the attention of multiple regulatory bodies over the past five years, as well as Hartlepool Borough Councils private sector housing team over questionable tenancy practices, as well as a litany of complaints regarding renting out properties which have reportedly been the subject to substandard works or in a serious state of disrepair.
Reviews of the company are all from his 'landlord' 'clients'...
Rogue letting agents are said to be becoming an integral part of Hartlepool's wider crime problem, with the latest closure of the property in Duke Street not an isolated incident & part of a wider trend, with Mr Copelands google reviews of his business all found to be from the landlords onto which he rents properties out, & none from his allegedly 'suffering' tenants
Over the past year, its claimed as many as 16 closure orders have now been issued across Hartlepool since Labour MP Jonathan Brash was appointed The Chair of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership. Whilst Mr Brash has spoken confidently about these closures—claiming they reflect a hardline stance against the "criminal minority"—there's questions being raised from many members of the local community...specifically as to how these properties are being let to problematic tenants in the first place?
The Problem Behind the Problem: Just Follow the Money
There's growing allegations that some letting agents in Hartlepool are putting profit before people, as the number of privately rented properties in Hartlepool starts to dwindle, deliberately placing problematic tenants into vulnerable communities in return for a guaranteed income stream via direct Universal Credit payments. In other words, leaving the local taxpayer to foot the bill, and local residents and the council left to deal with the chaos that ensues....
These irresponsible practices are said to be creating 'a domino effect', where once the issues then spiral out of control, local council's are then forced to intervene, applying for court-ordered closures—again funded by the public purse, leaving the property to be boarded up, leaving neighbourhood trust eroded.
Investigators for Durham & Teesside Today have found that this business operation is being used frequently by the local lettings agent effectively exploiting the UK benefit system, at the cost of local communities, and of the trust of ordinary Hartlepool residents, with some tenants being told they can move into a property managed by the local lettings agent so long as they sign a disclaimer asking the Department for Work & Pensions to pay the rent directly to the Lettings Agent themselves under the DWP's direct payments scheme....
The Council Must Act—No More Excuses
Such is the scale of the problem, its said to be leading to calls for Hartlepool Borough Council to launch a full review of all letting agents operating within the town, starting with those associated with the closed properties. one of those in specific being Jackson & Copeland Ltd.
The simplest solution being the council establishing a “Watch List” of rogue letting agents and apply pressure to those firms through licensing, inspections, and penalties. There is no excuse for turning a blind eye to letting agents who repeatedly enable the decay of local neighbourhoods.
Letting agents who fail in their duty to protect communities should never be allowed to operate unchecked. The message must be as clear to them as it is to the criminal tenants they accommodate:
If you contribute to the destruction of Hartlepool communities, there will be consequences.
This is about more than just one agency or one property—it’s about defending the rights of residents to live in peace.
What do you think ?
Is it time Hartlepool Borough Council come down hard on 'rogue' lettings agents who persistently let out their homes to criminals ?
YES
NO
