Landlord Portal & Redress Scheme

Landlord Portal & Redress Scheme

The Renters Rights Bill (RRB) aims to have ONE redress scheme for landlords, which will act as the ombudsman for the PRS. It will provide a fair, impartial & binding resolution for tenants, plus have powers to compel landlords to take certain actions.

Landlords will have to join by law (a fee will need to be paid – clarity is still awaited on this and whether it will be per landlord or per property), and need to be a member before, during and after the tenancy (time period to be specified). Landlords who don`t join will face some serious problems for non compliance:

1. Regaining possession will be an issue and could be illegal.
2. The property will not be able to be marketed.
3. Tenants will be able to seek a Rent Repayment Order (RRO).

It is hoped that the Ombudsman will offer mediation services to landlords to help settle disputes, rather than clog up the courts. They`ll also provide access to guidance and support to improve complaint handling practices. Landlords, however, will not be able to complain to the ombudsman about their tenants, as this is only for the tenants to use!

Tenants will be expected to raise any complaint with their landlord in first instance. Legitimate complaints could include:

1. Landlord’s behaviour – quite a subjective issue so a professional attitude will be important when tackling any issues raised by the tenants.
2. Repairs being completed in a “reasonable” timeframe – a diary will need to be kept and any communication with either the tenants or a contractor will need to be recorded. It would be advisable to keep the tenants totally up to date on progress.
3. Standard of a property which will relate to the Decent Homes Standard (DHS). This should not present a problem for landlords who maintain their property and have a pro-active attitude to maintenance – for those landlords who ignore defects in their property this could become very awkward and time consuming.

The Ombudsman will be given powers to:

1. “Put things right” for the tenant.
2. Get the landlord to issue an apology (often this is all that is required).
3. Get the landlord to provide information that is either required or missing.
4. Order the landlord to take remedial action to rectify the issue.
5. Order the landlord to potentially pay compensation to the tenants – only in extreme circumstances!

Where the landlord may be required to reimburse rents (RROs – Rent Repayment Orders-Housing & Planning Act 2016) particularly if the property does not meet the right standard; the amount will rise from the current one year TO TWO YEARS rent.

The Landlord Portal or Private Rented Sector Database will also be set up online (for landlords unable to register online, an offline route will have to be provided), which will be compulsory for landlords to join and to keep up to date, with the required information (to date unconfirmed) about both themselves and all of their properties they let.

The operator of the database will need to maintain entries on:

1. Existing or prospective landlords along with details of any other persons involved in the ownership or management of each property.
2. Properties which are or will be let under a residential tenancy.
3. Residential landlords who have received a Banning Order, a conviction or financial penalty in relation to a Banning Order offence or have received other regulatory convictions such as improvement notices.

The centralized database will provide a fully digital overview of landlords and their properties. Joining will be a legal requirement (the fee to join has yet to be decided) and there will be fines if a property is advertised without being on database, or if they provide fraudulent information which is covered under the Consumer Protection Regulations (CPRs).

This “One Stop Shop” will:

1. Help landlords understand their legal obligations, enabling them to demonstrate compliance and be able to receive any communication changes to their requirements.
2. Give tenants more information, so they can make informed decisions about renting.
3. Allow councils to more easily enforce compliance.

Landlords and properties will be given category of “active” or “inactive”. If an entry becomes “inactive”, the landlord will not be able to market, advertise, or let the property, unless it’s made active again. Inactive entries will be archived for five years and then deleted.

Active landlords and their properties will have a “unique identifier“ (UPRN – Unique Property Reference Number) that will need to be added to any written advertisement, to confirm registration in database.

To be considered “active”, landlords will need to keep all of the required information up to date. Landlords in breach of registration will be unable to obtain a possession order unless using Ground 7a or Ground 14.

Local councils will be expected to monitor both schemes and to take enforcement action against landlords not joining either scheme, advertising or letting a property without being registered to both. Civil penalties of up to £7,000 could be issued for first offences. If there are repeated breaches or a serious offence is committed (providing fraudulent information) then this fine can rise to a maximum of £40,000, or the landlord could face criminal prosecution.

One of the problems with giving final detail with both of these schemes is that they are technical to set up and will take time to finalize. The information above only covers what is proposed in the Renters Rights Bill; but a lot of the information required will be decided in the coming years under secondary legislation. The above is definitely the direction of travel for landlords and all will need to be prepared for the coming changes. Good communication with notes and acting in a professional manner when dealing with their rental properties and tenants, will be essential for all landlords who wish to remain compliant and potentially benefit from the coming changes!!