October 12, 2010
Members of The Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) have expressed concern over the welfare of individuals and families who rent property. ARLA claims that the lack of regulation for landlords is leaving tenants exposed and in a vulnerable position. Against their wishes the Government recently abandoned plans for regulation of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and cited Selective Licensing powers as adequate security. Currently such powers only allow local authorities to monitor landlords in areas where demand for housing is low or where anti-social behaviour is rife. However, ARLA believes these powers are not used regularly or effectively. Their research suggested that only 12 out of 400 local authorities have implemented Selective Licensing to date and only fifteen landlords have been prosecuted for failing to comply with the licensing requirements. ARLA has also discovered inconsistent standards around the implementation of Selective Licensing, with local authorities enforcing the legislation differently depending on their region. Ian Potter, Operations Manager of ARLA, urged the Government to look again at Selective Licensing and make efforts to strengthen its guidelines and enforcement. “ARLA’s research highlights the low number of prosecutions and the inconsistent means by which Selective Licensing is enforced, and the need for a national scheme to regulate the PRS. “The Government’s argument that Selective Licensing allows local authorities to deal with the problem of rogue landlords does not stand up to scrutiny. Only a small number of local authorities operate Selective Licensing schemes and these have led to very few prosecutions for those landlords who do not carry out their obligations.”