The government has committed to naming and shaming rogue landlords on a widely accessible property portal.
Despite a database of rogue landlords and agents being set up in 2018, housing authorities haven’t always gone through with listing the rogue landlord or agent.
Indeed, they can choose not to make an entry into the database if the landlord has committed at least one banning order for which they were convicted, or two or more banning order offences within a 12 month period for which they have received civil penalties.
It’s thought that resources being stretched is one reason some local authorities have failed to utilise the database.
The government was responding to a formal consultation on widening access to the rogue landlords database.
The authorities write: “We will introduce a new Property Portal to make sure that tenants, landlords and local councils have the information they need.
“The portal will provide a single ‘front door’ for landlords to understand their responsibilities, tenants will be able to access information about their landlord’s compliance, and local councils will have access to better data to crack down on criminal landlords.
“We also intend to incorporate some of the functionality of the Database of Rogue Landlords, mandating the entry of all eligible unspent landlord offences and making them publicly visible.”
The property portal plan was first introduced in the Fairer Private Rental Sector White Paper released in June, with the remit of upping transparency for tenants, as well as a providing a one-stop shop for landlords to enture they’re clear of their responsibilities.
