'Good landlords' list proposals

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Margaret Beckett: 'It is our intention that everyone who is a landlord will have to register'

Every private landlord in England will have to put their details on a national register, under government plans.

Landlords who fail to carry out essential repairs or who do not keep tenants' deposits safe could be struck off the list.

Unlike Wales and Northern Ireland, a register already exists in Scotland although one charity has said it has failed to stop rogue landlords.

Other proposals include regulation of private sector lettings agents.

Under the plans, tenants would also be given a minimum of two months' notice if they have to leave their home because their landlord's property had been repossessed.

The proposals come shortly after the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) announced it was to introduce a licensing scheme for its UK members and a code of practice for letting agents.

Review

The proposals emerged from an independent review into the private rented sector headed by Julie Rugg of the University of York.

Various groups will now get their say on the plans which include:

• A register of private landlords in England. They would put their registration number on all tenancy agreements. Poor performance would see them struck off and banned from renting out the property
• An independent regulator for all letting and managing agents. At present there is no redress for tenants and landlords when things go wrong. Agents do not need professional qualifications
• A minimum notice of two months for tenants to leave if their landlord's property is repossessed. There have been some cases of people being given less than two weeks to find somewhere new to live.

Cases of repossessions of property owned by buy-to-let landlords are expected to rise, according to some analysts, putting more tenants in this predicament.

Rents have fallen in recent months as supply has risen

"It is not right that tenants through no fault of their own can be forced to leave their home at a moment's notice if their landlord is repossessed, which is why we are intending to change the law," said Housing Minister Margaret Beckett.

Since April, new rules mean tenants get notice seven weeks before their landlord is in court for a repossession hearing, up from two weeks.

The proposals all relate to England, three years after the Scottish register of landlords was introduced. Wales and Northern Ireland do not have a register. It is a devolved issue, so assemblies would need to create their own proposals if they wished to follow suit.

Reaction

Ian Potter, operations manager at Arla, said the government's move represented a "historic shift in attitude towards the private rented sector".

But he said there was little need for a register of private landlords if lettings agents were licensed.

David Salusbury, chairman of the National Landlords Association, said the proposals were "well meaning but flawed".

He argued against a requirement in the plans for landlords to list of all the addresses of their rental properties on the register.

"We consider this to be overly intrusive and of no direct benefit to tenants or landlords," he said.

Caroline Pickering, who chairs the National Approved Letting Scheme - an accreditation system for lettings agents, said it was important that the regulator was independent of the industry.