As previously reported, from 6 April 2018, parts of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 commence introducing banning orders and a database of rogue landlords and property agents in England.
Banning orders
If a landlord is convicted of a “banning order offence” a local authority may apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a banning order against the landlord or agent who committed the offence.
A banning order offence includes (but not limited to):
- illegally evicting or harassing a residential occupier
- using violence to secure entry
- providing false or misleading information
- failing to comply with an improvement notice
- failure to comply with a prohibition order
- offences in relation to licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation
- offences in relation to selective licensing under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 (section 95)
- violence for securing entry
- offences related to drugs
- contravention of an overcrowding notice
- fire and gas safety offences
- harassment and stalking
The full list of offences that could attract a banning order at the time of writing can be found in the schedule to The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Banning Order Offences) Regulations 2018.
A banning order will ban the person from letting housing or acting as an agent (or both) in England.
A banning order must last for at least 12 months although there can be exceptions to allow for example a landlord to obtain possession orders against current tenants or to allow a letting agent wind down their business.
Database of rogue landlords
At the same time, a national database of rogue landlords is introduced and anybody with a banning order must be placed in the database.
Even without a banning order, a local authority may place a person on the database if they have been convicted of a banning order offence or have received a financial penalty in respect of a banning order offence at least twice in a 12 month period.
Local authorities throughout England will have access to the database (and are responsible for keeping it up to date) which will allow them to ensure a landlord or agent with a banning order can’t move areas within England.
Hello,
I’m all for this latest legislation.
Rogue landlords and letting agents give us all a bad name.
However,I’d be interested to hear when there will be legislation against ‘Rogue Tenants’. Such tenants are a problem not just for landlords, but for other tenants living around them. Sometimes, their behaviour can be dangerous to their neighbours.
Totally agree with PJS, it would appear that the term “Rogue Tenant” is outside the vocabulary – or understanding – of those who put together the legislation etc.
Apologies Adrian but surely this is a matter for Landlord organisations such as your good selves the RLA, NLA etc need to
take up with the “powers that be” in order to get the message through (or maybe you are but the message is falling on deaf ears).