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The full report from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has finally been published following consultation with all parts of the private rental sector, various professional associations and government bodies.
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The process was launched back in August and various bodies were invited to come up with strategies to clean up the private rental sector and lettings industry.
Solutions to Tackle Rogue Landlords
The resultant discussion paper hopes to present solutions to tackle the problem of rogue landlords. It has also dealt with the issue of abandoned properties, which have remained a problem for landlords for some time as the current legal system protects tenants from eviction.
Summary of Findings
The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has responded to the report’s findings and summarised them as follows:
• 92% of respondents think there needs to be a blacklist of rogue landlords
• 84% of respondents believe data held by Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes should be released to local authorities to help them target rogue landlords
• 85% think tenants illegally evicted should qualify for a Rent Repayment Order
• 51% believe there should be a new process to deal with properties that have effectively been abandoned because a tenant has disappeared
On the subject of letting agent ‘banning orders’, ARLA has this to say:
“Sales Agents can already be banned under the Estate Agent Act 1979, but it’s about time that the lettings sector followed suit. The easiest solution would be to add a section to the Housing and Planning Bill which follows a similar structure as that already provided for estate agents in the 1979 Act.”
