Unscrupulous landlords who rent out substandard properties face being driven out of the private rented sector as new banning orders are introduced and a national database of rogue landlords and letting agents goes live today.
Landlords convicted of a range of housing and immigration offences will be put on the new database, so councils can share information between themselves and keep a closer eye on those with a poor track record.
Landlords who are found to guilty of other offences such as leasing overcrowded properties, fire and gas safety offences and unlawful eviction will also be added to the new list.
Heather Wheeler, minister for Housing and Homelessness, said: “I am committed to making sure people who are renting are living in safe and good quality properties. That’s why we’re cracking down on the small minority of landlords that are renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation.
“Landlords should be in no doubt that they must provide decent homes or face the consequences.”
The private rented sector houses 4.7 million households in England and the government is delivering these reforms under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 so everyone has a safe and decent place to live.
But while the database will be available to use by councils to crackdown on poor and unfair practice in the PRS such as overcrowded, squalid or dangerous accommodation, and to help target enforcement action, a leading trade body believes that the new database will prove to be a ‘pointless exercise’.
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