Propertymark wants local landlord licensing schemes scrapped once the new national Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is fully operational.
The dramatic intervention into the rental licensing debate sees Propertymark arguing that broad discretionary schemes can impose significant costs and administrative burdens on responsible landlords and letting agents without necessarily improving enforcement.
The “Register your rental property” database launches on December 15 before rolling out across England over the following 12 months.
All landlords actively letting property in England will ultimately be required to register.
Propertymark says the new national infrastructure provides an opportunity to reduce duplication and allow councils to focus enforcement resources on landlords who pose the greatest risk.
The trade body’s analysis highlights selective licensing fees exceeding £1,000 per property in several areas, with additional licensing schemes charging even more.
For landlords and agents managing larger portfolios, costs can quickly reach tens of thousands of pounds.
Propertymark also highlights concerns about enforcement capacity, claiming that approximately two-thirds of local authorities in England had not prosecuted a landlord in the previous three years, despite councils receiving an estimated 300,000 complaints about property conditions each year.
More than 84% of councils have also reported difficulties recruiting environmental health professionals.
Propertymark is calling for greater transparency over licensing income, with councils required to demonstrate how fees are being used for inspections and enforcement. It also proposes a national cap limiting the proportion of licensing fees spent on initial administration to 20%.
The PRS Database is intended to provide a national record of landlords and their properties, giving local authorities better information to identify and target non-compliance.
Propertymark argues that councils should use the national system as their primary source of information rather than requiring landlords and agents to repeatedly submit the same documentation.
Where information is already held nationally, local authorities should not charge landlords again for duplicated data-entry and document-storage functions.
Propertymark is also calling for a single national standard for what constitutes a complete application.
Ultimately, the agent’s body believes discretionary local licensing schemes should be removed once the national database is fully operational.
The organisation says this would not mean weaker standards or reduced protection for renters. Instead, enforcement resources could be concentrated on landlords who are most likely to be operating outside the law.
Propertymark is advocating:
• Removal of discretionary local licensing once the national PRS Database is fully operational;
• Targeted, intelligence-led enforcement of higher-risk landlords;
• Greater use of national data to identify non-compliance;
• Use of the national database as the primary source of landlord and property information;
• Greater transparency over licensing fees, inspections and enforcement outcomes;
• A national cap on the proportion of licensing fees spent on initial administration;
• Independent assessment and sunset provisions for licensing schemes;
• Greater investment in Environmental Health Officers;
• Greater use of landlord accreditation and professional standards;
• Private Rented Sector Charters setting out expected standards; and
• A Lead Authority model to reduce repeated checks for agents operating across multiple council areas.
Propertymark says the success of the national database should ultimately be judged not by how many landlords register, but by whether it enables councils to identify and act against non-compliant landlords more effectively.
