Mayor highlights public access to information on landlords and letting agencies convicted of offences
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced that all 33 boroughs in the capital have signed up to contribute to its online database of rogue landlords.
He made the announcement along with the publication of the London Housing Strategy.
Named the Rogue Landlords and Letting Agents Checker and available on the Greater London Authority website, it now includes records from 10 boroughs with those from the remaining ones to be uploaded soon.
It enables people to check if the landlord or letting agent of a rental property has been convicted of any housing offences.
The Checker also includes a ‘report a rogue’ tool, a central portal for renters to make a complaint about a landlord or agent for the first time.
Khan (pictured) said he believes the database, published on the City Hall website, will give Londoners greater confidence in renting a home, as well as acting as a clear deterrent to the small minority of landlords and letting agents who behave dishonestly.
The Checker – said to be the first of its kind in the country – was launched last December with the support of 10 boroughs, four months in advance of the Government’s National Rogue Landlord Database.
Khan’s office said the Government database contains a limited range of offences compared with the Checker and is available only to local authorities, not members of the public.
Informed choice
Khan said: “The rental market in the capital is difficult enough to navigate without a small minority of rogue operators exploiting their tenants. This tool will empower Londoners to make an informed choice about where to live.
“I’m extremely grateful for the support of all the local authorities and other bodies which have signed up to contribute their records to the database. I’m confident this will be a major step in tackling unscrupulous and illegal practices in the rented sector.”
The Checker has three elements: a public online database of landlords and letting agents who have been prosecuted or fined by London boroughs or the London Fire Brigade, or expelled from letting agent redress schemes; a private online database for local authorities and the London Fire Brigade to share more detailed information about offences; and the reporting tool.
On the public database records will be available (in most cases) for 12 months, due to restrictions in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Image from the Greater London Authority
