From this Friday there will be a new database of rogue landlords and letting agents will be launched in England, as the government introduces banning orders for those who fail to protect tenants. This was part of the 2016’s Housing and Planning Act.
So how will they work? And how can you meet your responsibilities as a landlord?
Banning orders to be introduced
Primarily from 6 April 2018 a new database will name landlords who have been banned from letting a property or have been convicted of an offence that prevents them from letting or managing one.
The Department for Local Communities and Government (DCLG) has listed details of breaches that can result in landlords being banned. They include:
- Illegally evicting or harassing a tenant
- Using violence to enter a property
- Failing to comply with improvement notice/prohibition order
- Failing to adhere to HMO (houses in multiple occupations) rules or management regulations
- Providing false or misleading information
- Failing to adhere to an overcrowding notice
This will mean anyone who is given banning orders won’t be able to earn income from lettings or work as part of managing agents.
Your responsibilities as a landlord
As a landlord, there are a series of things you need to do to ensure the safety of tenants living in your property.
These include:
- Maintaining heating and water systems and bathroom installations
- Having a gas safety check done by a registered engineer each year
- Ensuring electrical circuits and appliances are safe
- Ensuring furniture meets fire-safety regulations and testing smoke detectors
- Carrying out a condition check at the start of the tenancy
- You’ll also need to ensure your tenants are living in the UK legally under ‘Right to Rent’ laws,
- And will need to adhere to any licensing systems put in place by your local authority.
Scary eh! With this in mind, some landlords choose to appoint a managing agent to look after their property on their behalf. The only issue is who will get to see this list, as we would love to know who is on it, and am sure you would too!!
Remember to ensure you work with an Agent who is fully compliant with the 150+ pieces of legislation that we are governed by.
Belvoir Bedford would be more than happy to assist and are fully compliant: get in touch – let us take the worry out of letting your property!!
