The Association of Residential Letting Agents wants agents and tenants to have access to the government’s high profile but so far little used rogue landlord database. 

ARLA has made the request as part of its response to the government’s consultation on the data base, which was set up in April of last year and should list all those property agents and landlords convicted of a banning order offence. 

Last October the then-Prime Minister Theresa May committed to opening up access to information on the database of rogue landlords and property agents to tenants, and this consultation – which closes next month – is part of that process.

ARLA says it wants:

– to widen access to the database to potential tenants, current tenants, landlords, membership organisations and lettings agents “in order to make informed decisions in their respected fields or situations”;

– to widen the scope of the database “by including information such as if a landlord or letting agent fails a fit and proper person test, is issued with an Improvement Notice or has been expelled from a redress scheme”;

– in terms of selective licensing, the association believes that only in certain circumstances should a landlord or agent who has had a property licence refused or revoked should be included on the database “as it should only apply where there has been a serious breach of licence or a repeated offence”; 

– local authorities should not have access to information for a longer period than the wider public “as the database must be open and transparent to all and access should remain equal.”

You can see the association’s full response here.