It’s been in the offing for a while now, but the rogue’s gallery has gone live!
A database of rogue letting agents and landlords has gone live today, a slight delay past its expected date of October 2017, but experts have voiced concerns over how effective the database will be as there are no plans to make the details publicly available.
The list will only be available to central Government bodies, and local authorities, and will not be visible to any third parties with an interest in the information, such as prospective landlords, tenants, or employers. People with access to the data will be able to see if any organisations on the list have criminal convictions or have ever been issued with a banning order.
When this legislation was first announced, we were wildly supportive – anything which will help eradicate bad letting agents and landlords has our full support. However, the outcome is disappointing. The database won’t be public, which means no one will be able to see it and therefore letting agents and landlords who are on the list can continue operating with impunity. This appears to be a pointless exercise. If the list were made public – like the equivalent for estate agents – rogue agents and landlords would leave the market for good.
David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark
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