What Landlords need to Know about the new Database and Redress Scheme

We know that there will be an all-new national database for landlords in the England. All landlords will be required to register their properties, and all individuals with interest in any rented property must be named as part of the process.

Information that is likely to be required:

1. Landlords’ personal information.
2. Details of who owns and/or manages the property.
3. Documents to confirm the property standard, such as the landlord’s gas and electrical certificate. These documents are required to be reuploaded on renewal of the certificates.

The database will be publicly viewable for all to view, allowing transparency for tenants. 

There will be a fee to register the property and there are likely to be timelines with restrictions to ensure landlords promptly register. Landlords will also have the responsibility to remember to re-register prior to their registration lapsing. Fines of up to £7,000 for noncompliance have previously been announced. This monetary punishment will be ongoing and repeated if breaches continue. If a serious offence is committed, such as providing fraudulent information to the database, a civil penalty of up to £40,000 could be imposed, or the potential of criminal prosecution. To ensure participation, Landlords who fail to register will not be able to obtain a possession order on their property, except on the grounds of anti-social behaviour.

In addition to the database, all landlords will also be required to sign up to the new Redress Scheme & Ombudsman Scheme. Further details have not yet been announced for these schemes, including registration timeframes and potential costs. We are sure landlords will need to provide relevant property details and upload information such as gas safety certificates.

As agents, we will be able to assist Landlords with their registration, but the details of what we will be able to carry out and provide on behalf of Landlords is yet to be confirmed. It is hoped that online portals will allow lettings agents to act for clients.

To date, we have not yet been told who will be implementing or running either database.

Given that Landlords are expected to pay for these services, forward planning is now recommended to account for these additional costs.  If you have not already considered rent increases, then now is the time to contact your local agent who will be able to guide you on current rental trends. A stand-out letting agent will then be able to assist in serving the correct notice when increasing rental price. If rental agent is not already instructed, now is the time to consider professional advice to ensure any landlords don’t fall foul of the new changes.