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Plans for a database of private rented properties risk providing little help to tenants unless it includes meaningful information, according to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
The warning comes as the Renters’ Rights Bill sets out to establish a database of all private rented properties and landlords in England.
While ministers pledge that it will give assurances to tenants, no detail has been provided about the exact types of information that will be included on the database.
In the NRLA’s view, responsible landlords need to be able to demonstrate compliance with all their obligations, while tenants must be empowered to identify homes and landlords that meet all required standards.
At a minimum, the NRLA says gas and electricity safety certificates should be fully digitised so they can be easily uploaded onto the database, alongside already digitised Energy Performance Certificates. The association also believes the database should also include a signed declaration by a landlord which confirms that a property meets the requirements of the planned decent homes standard for the sector.
Without this essential information, the database will fail to help tenants determine whether properties are safe and secure, and this outcome will only undermine its intended purpose, the NRLA insists.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said: “The database of private rented properties must go beyond a basic directory. It needs to provide tenants with clear, meaningful information designed to empower informed decisions on their next home. This will help tenants identify the vast majority of homes that are safe, secure and well-managed by responsible landlords.
“It would be a travesty if the database simply became a bureaucratic list of homes and landlords with little else besides.”
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