The rental market is highly charged at the moment and at Letting International we have seen a lot written about rogue landlords and agents who contribute to the confusion and feelings of concern in the sector. Now the Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker offers a way for prospective renters and tenants to check on the information listed about letting agents and private landlords, who have been in court and been fined or prosecuted by Boroughs in Camden, Brent, Islington, Greenwich, Newham, Kingston, Sutton, Southwark Westminster and Waltham Forest.
This important initiative has the backing of the Mayor of London who knows that most private landlords and letting agents are hard working and offer their tenants a decent service. However, he is all too aware that there are still some agents and landlords who are giving the rental sector a bad name. The Mayor wants those who do not do a good job to be named and shamed. The Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker is designed to empower renters and to support local councils and others to use enforcement powers, and to let private landlords and letting agents who do behave unlawfully know that they will not get away with it.
With the Checker you can find out if an Estate Agent or Landlord has been:
- Prosecuted or fined successfully by a council in London
- Prosecuted successfully or served with a prohibition notice by the London Fire Brigade
- Expelled from a scheme for mandatory consumer redress (being expelled from such a scheme means that an agent can no longer operate legally).
That is an impressive start with discussion going on with all other London councils to get them to sign up to this important checker that will do a lot to help restore trust and stability to the rental market.
Other useful information on rental properties is also included from agencies like the London Fire Brigade.
The checker also includes information from the London Fire Brigade as well as the details of three redress schemes for consumers. This gives further details of agents and landlords across the whole London area.
What do you need to know when you use the Checker?
- First that the records contained on the checker will not be there forever. They will be there for a limited length of time.
- Only the details of agents and landlords, who have been convicted or fined in relation to a housing offence, will appear on the checker.
- If you see that an agent or landlord is listed as having been given a £0 fine, it could be as a result of the fact that they were convicted of multiple offences at the same time and in view of that, the Judge issued a fine that was combined. Any fine displayed in these circumstances will only display on the first of the multiple convictions.
At Letting International we welcome any move that makes the rental market more equitable.
Check out the database yourself: https://www.london.gov.uk/rogue-landlord-checker
