London database to name and shame criminal landlords
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new partnership with London councils in an attempt to crackdown on rogue landlords and letting agents in London.
Together with local boroughs, the Mayor intends to create a new online database on which criminal landlords and letting agents who exploit their tenants will be 'named and shamed'. The database will enable councils to share information on landlords' criminal history and provide details of enforcement activity and investigations.
The Mayor believes the database "will give Londoners greater confidence in renting in the capital, allowing them to check a prospective landlord or letting agent before moving into a property". It will also "act as a deterrent to the minority of landlords and agents who behave dishonestly".
Already called the 'name and shame' database, the database will launch in Autumn 2017. The Mayor will initially work with six councils (Newham, Brent, Camden, Southwark, Kingston and Sutton) with more join in after the launch.
Tenants currently have to sign up to a tenancy agreement without knowing their landlord's history. The database will ensure tenants can find out whether their prospective landlord is one of those that mistreats tenants and has committed housing offences.
No doubt councils elsewhere in the country and those landlords with a less than pristine record will be watching this scheme carefully. If it is successful, there is a good chance that other councils will set up a similar scheme.
The database will be hosted on the Greater London Authority website
Source: Mayor of London site
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