4th
Nov 2015
One of the proposed Housing and Planning Bill’s priories will be to ban rogue landlords (and letting agents) from letting or renting out property.
Greg Clark, the secretary of state for communities and local government, introduced the bill to Parliament last month.
The specific part of the bill that targets the rogues allows councils to issue a banning order to those landlords and lettings agents who have had previous convictions of a banning order offence. Those on the receiving end will then be entered into a database of rogue landlords and lettings agents.
However it does not just stop there, the Bill gives councils the power to issue a rent repayment order for anyone who breaches a banning order.
Matt Hutchinson, director of flat and house share site, said: "The booming rental market has a small but worrying dark side – the rise of unscrupulous landlords and agents who seek to prey on tenants. Getting them out of the market should be a top priority.
"A database of rogue landlords and agents could be a vital tool as long as the information it contains is accurate and accessible to those who need it most.
"But we should be wary of piling lots of extra legislation on the sector. The need to clamp down on the unscrupulous shouldn't hinder the vast majority of landlords, who do play by the rules and provide the rental accommodation Britain desperately needs."
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