Rogue landlord database

The Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents is effective from 6 April 2018.[1]

Only local authorities can make entries to the database.

A local authority must make an entry when it has obtained a banning order against a landlord or agent.[2]

An authority can make an entry when a landlord or agent is not subject to a banning order but has at a time when they were a landlord or agent committed either:[3]

• at least one banning order offence for which they have been convicted

• two or more banning order offences within a 12 month period for which they have received civil penalties

In deciding whether to use this power, local authorities must have regard to Government guidance on the database. The guidance stresses that the more comprehensive the database is the more useful it will be.[4]

However, the guidance suggests that an authority should consider:[5]

• the severity of the offence

• any mitigating factors, such as a landlord or agent's personal issues

• culpability of the landlord or agent and previous offences

• deterrence of the landlord or agent and others

Before an authority can make an entry under its discretionary powers it must give the landlord or agent at least 21 days’ notice stating it has decided to place them on the database. The notice must be given within 6 months of the conviction or receipt of the second civil penalty.[6]

The following information must be recorded where a landlord or agent is placed on the database:[7]

• full name and address of landlord or agent (registered address if it is a company)

• addresses of all properties owned, let, or managed by the landlord or agent as part of their business

• national insurance number and date of birth if the landlord or agent is an individual

• length of the ban

• date for removal from the database

• description of each banning order offence

• description of each banned activity (when applicable)

• local authority making the entry

A local authority must take reasonable steps to keep the information up-to-date.[8]

A landlord or agent remains on the database for the period a banning order is in effect, or at least two years where the entry was made under the authority’s discretionary powers.[9]

Where a local authority is using its discretionary powers to place a landlord or agent on the register, it has to decide how long the entry should last for. The statutory guidance suggests considering similar factors to those involved in deciding whether to make the entry.[10]

A local authority must remove an entry if it was made on the basis of one or more convictions for a banning order offence, all of which have been overturned on appeal.[11]

A local authority may also remove an entry or reduce the period it is on the database, if:[12]

• one or more convictions for a banning order offence, but not all, have been overturned on appeal

• one or more convictions for a banning order offence are spent

• at least a year has elapsed since an entry was made because the landlord/agent received two or more civil penalties in a 12-month period

A landlord or agent has no right to appeal against an entry made after a local authority has obtained a banning order.

A landlord or agent has a right to appeal against a local authority's notice of its decision to make an entry on the database under its discretionary powers.

An out of time appeal can be considered if there is a good reason for the late appeal. An entry must not be made until the appeal is decided or withdrawn.[13]

Only local housing authorities have access to the database.[14]

The database is not open to tenants or the general public.

A local authority can only use the information on the database in connection with:[15]

• its functions under the Housing Act 2004 (for example, in relation to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System or the licensing of HMOs)

• criminal investigations or proceedings relating to a banning order offence

• investigations or proceedings relating to housing or landlord and tenant law

• promoting compliance with housing or landlord and tenant law by a person on the database

• statistical or research purposes

Local authorities are advised to check the database when deciding if accommodation for a homeless applicant with a private landlord is suitable.[16]

The Mayor of London and the London Assembly have set up a Rogue landlord and agent checker that can be accessed by the general public.

It contains information about landlords and agents who have been:

• prosecuted or fined by London boroughs for housing-related offences

• prosecuted by the London Fire Brigade for fire safety offences

• expelled by one of the agency redress schemes