Renters May Get Access To Rogue Landlord Database

A database of rogue landlords would be opened up to prospective tenants under government plans. The Rogue Landlords Database was launched in 2018 and only has ten names on it so far. It includes those who have been banned for failing to make a property habitable, or have been convicted of serious offences. At the moment the list is only open to local authorities but under a package of rent reforms it will be opened up. The proposals apply to England as housing policy has been devolved. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49062504

Tenants Will Get Access To Rogue Landlord Database

Theresa May has pledged to give tenants access to the government’s new rogue landlord database after an investigation revealed that not a single name had been entered into the system in more than six months since its launch – and that even when landlords’ names were listed, the public would not be allowed to see them. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Our rogue landlord database has only been in place since April and … only offences committed from April this year can be included, and it can take several months to secure convictions. We are clear that we expect to see entries in the database from the new year. We also intend to make information in the database available to prospective and existing tenants.” Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/24/government-policing-of-rogue-landlords-labelled-pathetic

Mayor Launches Database to ‘Name and Shame’ Rogue Landlords

Sadiq Khan, has launched his Rogue Landlord & Agent Checker – London’s first online ‘name and shame’ database to help crack down on unscrupulous landlords and agents in the Capital. The database, published here on the City Hall website, is aimed at giving Londoners greater confidence in renting a home by allowing them to check a prospective landlord or letting agent, as well as acting as a clear deterrent to the small minority of landlords and letting agents who behave dishonestly. Read more on the NLA website.

Local Authorities Still Waiting For Rogue Landlord Database

A database of rogue landlords and letting agents has yet to be set up, two years after it was announced by the government, it has emerged.  Local authorities were promised the ability to check electronically with a central Whitehall list of disreputable landlords and agents, to enable them to be brought to justice. The database would not be made available to the public. Read more on the UKAuthority website.

Landlords: Databases – Parliamentary Written Answer

Baroness Grender: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the database of rogue landlords and property agents provided for in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will be published. Will it include all rogue landlords who have committed an offence or only those who have been banned.?

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government is planning to introduce the database of rogue landlords and property agents with effect from 1 October 2017. It will contain details of landlords and property agents who have been served with a banning order, or have been convicted of a banning order offence, or have received two or more civil penalties. 

LGA Calls For Rogue Landlord Database

A far-ranging national government-backed database, covering all housing-related convictions, should be created to help councils launch a crackdown on "postcode" rogue landlords who are endangering tenants' lives. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents over 370 councils in England and Wales, says serial criminal landlords, who are being blocked from operating by some boroughs running licensing schemes, may be moving to other postcodes and trying to set up their unscrupulous businesses. The LGA is calling for:

·         A much tougher "fit and proper person" test – an initial screening process which is designed to weed out rogue landlords

·         Letting agents to be brought under the same legislation as estate agents so the bad operators can be booted out

·         Stronger sentencing guidelines for magistrates and a wider range of penalties

Read more on the LGA website.

New Database Names Private Landlords Convicted Under Housing Act

Private landlords convicted of safety breaches have been named publicly for the first time in a new national database created after the Ministry of Justice disclosed the data following a freedom on information request. The data maps firms convicted of dozens of breaches under the Housing Act 2004. The database, which was compiled by Environmental Health News, provides private renters the first at-a-glance guide to whether landlords and letting agents have been prosecuted in the past. Some of the companies involved have received hundreds of thousands of pounds in public money in the form of housing benefit. Read more on the EHN website.