The National Landlords' Association, which has been outspoken in its opposition to local councils licensing landlords, has stepped up its demand for what it calls a more workable alternative - accreditation.
Renee Young, Landlord Development and Accreditation Officer at the NLA, calls council licensing narrow minded and adds up to little more than names on a list.
But she says an accreditation system as put forward by the NLA would be based on landlord development and would offer consistency for landlords, tenants and councils alike. Research from the NLA shows that about 70 per cent of tenants said they'd be more likely to accept a property from a landlord if they knew they were committed to completing an annual programme of accreditation or training, says Young.
The association says over 40 councils are promoting the NLA accreditation scheme, sometimes with local branding - for example, Cumbria Council recently launched accreditation in its patch, known as the Cumbria Landlords Accreditation Scheme.
If we expect local or central government to recognise and absorb the truth - that the rogues are in a minority and that landlords are of real value to the economy - then a commitment to operating professionally can only strengthen the argument, claims Young.
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Comments
It really does go to show just how out of touch these so-called landlords associations are. Licensing regimes are about the properties and not landlords as the Housing Act 2004 is the driving legislation that allows it to be considered. Landlords who are not tax registered are the biggest offenders and complainers about licensing and when you find out they are not "fit and proper" they go all coy and shy!! From my own experience, most landlords and letting agents haven't got a clue and it is these people/businesses that are causing all of the problems. Many are greedy to a sickening degree and treat tenants like second hand citizens. I've seen many of the so-called accredited landlords from the NLA and the RLA plus apparent professional agencies under ARLA, NALS and RICS who are almost as bad. The Council Landlords accreditation schemes are little more than local authorities playing to the NLA and RLA because they don't have enough housing standards officers to deal with their housing issues and also because they don't think housing is a priority. Another point would be teh fact that almost every Council in the UK uses EHO's (Environmental Health Officers) who in general are managed (ha ha) by a senior EHO. My experience of EHO's, useless. Useless would be a compliment in this context. I've worked in this field for almost 30 years as a building surveyor and local authority housing standards officer and could genuinely count on one hand good landlords and agencies.