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Rogue Landlords
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Rogue Landlords One of the key aims of the controversial Housing and Planning Act 2016 is to crack down on rogue landlords who knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation. To do so, the Act introduces the concept of a ‘banning order offence’ and a database of rogue landlords. While this is a worthy goal, the Act itself provides little certainty as to exactly what constitutes a rogue landlord and instead simply grants the Secretary of State wide powers to create and impose secondary legislation which will include those details which are lacking in the Act
Luke Arnold Solicitor | Disputes luke.arnold@laytons.com +44 (0)1483 407 000
Simon Foster Partner | Disputes simon.foster@laytons.com +44 (0)1483 407 000
Rogue Landlords | March 2017
What is the Act missing?
The starting point is that a rogue landlord is not defined in the Act. Unsurprisingly, this absence led to some criticism but we expect that a rogue landlord will simply be defined as anyone who is found to be guilty of a banning order offence.
Unhelpfully once again, a banning order offence is not
•
a serious criminal offence | specifically those relating
defined. Instead, the Secretary of State now has the power to
to fraud, drugs, violence or sexual offences which took
make regulations as to what sort of actions are to be caught
place at residential premises by someone involved in
by this Act. Looking at the Government’s recent consultation,
management of those premises (such as a landlord
it seems likely a banning order offence will include:
threatening his tenants); and
•
a relevant housing offence | this may include illegal
•
Other criminal offences | in instances where the
eviction and harassment of tenants as well as a wide
offender has been sentenced in the Crown Court and
variety of offences under the Housing Act 2004
the offence was committed against, or in conjunction
(such as failure to comply with an overcrowding or
with, a person residing at the property.
improvement notice) This consultation finished on 10 February 2017 and we •
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an immigration offence | most likely being letting
will be monitoring the outcome in future articles as well as
property to someone who does not have the right
hopefully giving a potential timeframe for these changes to
to rent property in the UK
be implemented.
Rogue Landlords | March 2017
What do we know so far?
While the definition of a rogue landlord and a banning order offence is yet to actually be confirmed, the Act does set out the punishment for anyone who is convicted of such an offence.
When implemented, a local authority will be able to apply for
rogue landlords. While the exact mechanism of placing such
a banning order from the First Tier Tribunal against anyone
an entry and what information will actually be included is not
who has been convicted of a banning order offence.
yet certain, this does suggest a simple but effective way of identifying and ostracising rogue landlords.
The effect of a banning offence is that the person is prevented from letting property in England or engaging in letting agency
Finally, renters who have been affected by rogue landlords
or property management work relating to housing in England
now have greater recourse against their landlords. Tenants
for at least 12 months.
are able to apply for a rent repayment order against landlords who have committed certain offences (including breach of a
If the banning order is breached, that person is liable
banning order) whereby the Tribunal can order that the guilty
for imprisonment for up to 51 weeks or a fine. However,
landlord repays rent paid up to 12 months preceding that
interestingly the Act provides that the local authority is able to
offence.
impose the financial penalty itself as opposed to prosecution. This fine is capped at ÂŁ30,000 for every six months where the
The lack of details in the Act has led to criticism and it is
individual is in breach and the local authority is able to keep
difficult to predict how it will be implemented in practice
this penalty fine. Presumably therefore this option will be
until we see the severity of the secondary legislation. That
taken up far more often than imprisonment.
being said, the overall goal of protecting tenants and
There is also a new provision whereby local authorities will
stopping abusive landlords is unequivocal and ought to be
be required to include details of anyone subject to a banning
commended.
order or guilty of a banning order offence on a database of
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