England’s landlord register takes shape
One of our longest-running campaigns is a step closer to becoming a reality: a national register of landlords in England. After years of being asked for payslips, bank statements and […]
PRESS RELEASE: One step closer to a landlord register in England
Responding to this morning’s announcement by the government of plans to roll out the new national landlord register and designate the Valuation Office to carry out rent determinations, Holly Williamson, […]
How the upcoming landlord database should work for renters
The Renters’ Rights Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will finally introduce a new database which all landlords in England will have to join. At Generation Rent we have outlined exactly […]
Ministers should activate army of tenants to enforce new rules
London’s renters face a postcode lottery when dealing with criminal operators, with just five councils responsible for 87% of fines on landlords and letting agents who break the law, our […]
Getting more renters registered to vote
Private renters are one of the least enfranchised groups in British society, with low levels of voter registration arising from frequent moves. The Electoral Commission estimates that just 66% of […]
Why rent refunds are the key to fixing the rental market
One tweak to the Renters (Reform) Bill could transform renters’ awareness of rights, drive up landlords’ compliance with new rules and reduce council’s workload at a time of financial difficulty. […]
Licensing landlords drives up standards in England
Councils that require landlords to be licensed take more than twice as much enforcement action as those that don’t.
It just got easier to tackle criminal landlords in London
- It is estimated that one in seven homes in England is criminally unsafe – but the good news is it just got easier for tenants in London to do something about this. Sadiq Khan has today brought in a tool for renters to check if their home needs a licence.
Local councils are responsible for identifying and putting a stop to criminal landlords. In some cases, tenants can even claim rent back from a landlord who breaks the law.
But councils are not doing much to help renters identify illegal practice and exercise their rights which means that many landlords are getting away with criminal behaviour.
Finding out if your landlord is a criminal
There are now three live government consultations that could help to reshape the private rental market.
One is on reforming tenancy deposits (deadline for responses 2 September), the second is on abolishing Section 21 evictions (deadline 12 October) and the third, announced last Sunday as well, proposes giving tenants access to a government database of criminal landlords.