This is the sixth post in my series on how the Renters Rights Act will change renting.
My last five posts have been on changes that have already come into effect. However, today I want to discuss two other big changes that are scheduled to come into effect in stages from later this year.
These are:
- the new Landlords Database and
- the new Landlord Ombudsman scheme.
The Landlords Database
Of the two, this is likely to come into effect soonest. Particularly, as I understand that the database is actually in existence and being checked by landlords in some areas.
It is well overdue, as at the moment, Local Authorities and the government have no definitive way of finding out how many landlords there are, where they are, and the properties they are renting out.
But once the database is with us, there will, for the first time, be a central record of landlords and their properties.
The database will be particularly useful for the authorities:
- It will aid Local Authorities in their enforcement work.
- It will help the First Tier Tribunal, if they are given access to rent records, to determine the market rent where section 13 rent increases are referred to them for review, and
- It will also (although this is not specifically stated anywhere by the government) doubtless assist HMRC locate landlords who have failed to properly declare their income for tax purposes.
It will also be enormously helpful for tenants as it will allow them to find out a bit more about their prospective landlord and the property. Alhough at the moment we don’t yet know what information will be public and what will just be viewable by the authorities.
Landlords are inevitably concerned about having yet another service to pay for, particularly if they are already paying for HMO or selective licensing. However, the government have made it clear that this database is in no way a replacement for Local Authority Licensing.
The government has also indicated that the database may be used to update landlords on new legislation coming into effect and to provide general guidance, which will be very helpful.
There is already a considerable amount of online guidance available, although it is doubtful whether the majority of landlords are aware of its existence.
The Landlord’s Ombudsman service
This is also well overdue, as there have been Ombudsman (or Property Redress) services for letting agents since 2014. It is unfair that tenants who rent from a landlord who uses an agent have recourse to an Ombudsman, but those who rent directly from their landlord do not.
It is anticipated that the new Ombudsman will be Richard Blakeway, the current Housing Ombudsman for the social housing sector. This is so there will be just one scheme covering both types of housing, creating parity across both sectors.
The government’s roadmap though, indicates that the Ombudsman service is unlikely to launch before 2027-2028. Which is unfortunate.
The Renters Rights Act is a massive act and will bring in many changes. Inevitably, there will be loopholes and areas where the law is unclear.
At the moment, tenants renting directly from landlords will have to challenge decisions, for example, if a landlord unreasonably refuses to allow a pet, through the courts.
This will inevitably put off tenants unfamiliar with the court process. This is a scary process for many, as well as being expensive and time-consuming.
It would have been really helpful to have had the Ombudsman scheme set up ready to help tenants through the inevitable problems that will arise under the new regime. This failure will inevitably put tenants renting directly from their landlord at a disadvantage.
However, it should be up and running by the time the reforms in stage 3 of the act come into force. Namely, the decent homes rules and Awaabs law.
And finally
The database and Ombudsman services are an essential part of the Government’s vision for renting in the future. They will perform essential functions, helping landlords, tenants and the authorities.
So it is unfortunate that they will not be coming on board for some time. There will be a significant gap before they are in place.
In my final post of this series, I will be summing up.
Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
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