The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents) Regulations 2018 will come into force on 6th April 2018.
The Regulations only apply in England and set out what information should be included in the database.
Specifically, the information will include:
- Name and address whether individual or company;
- Local housing authority by which the entry is made;
- National insurance details;
- Date of birth;
- Length of ban and date for removal from database; and
- Description of banning order offence and activity.
There has been no announcement of the exact date of the database becoming live but in light of these Regulations we assume that the database will go live on or around 6th April. This database, unlike the one run by the Mayor of London is not intended to be publicly available.
The offences that can lead to being placed on the database are the same as those for which a banning order can be made. These include:
- Unlawful eviction and harassment of occupier
- Violence for securing entry
- Failing to comply with an improvement notice
- Offences in relation to licensing HMOs
- Fire Safety and Gas Safety offences
- Offence of harassment and stalking
- Theft, Burglary, Blackmail and Handling stolen goods.
Where a banning order is made then entry on the database is automatic. Otherwise it is optional where a conviction has been obtained for an offence or where there have been two penalty notices served for an offence within 12 months and neither of them have been successfully appealed.
Whether the database will be effective or not remains to be seen. However, this tool is mainly for the use of local authorities in their enforcement activity and so for many landlords its operation will exist in the background.
