The Renters’ Rights Act won’t work as intended if it’s not enforced properly. Key to this is the new landlord database, which is due to be rolled out at the end of the year and will require all landlords to register details about the properties they rent out. To make sure our rights can be properly enforced, the database must capture all the information needed for renters and local authorities to make informed decisions on rental issues.
That’s why over thirty civil society organisations signed our letter to the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, asking him to make sure the database is transparent, effective, and timely.
We had three asks for the Minister:
- Expand the scope of information collected through the database and make this information publicly accessible, including data on rents charged by landlords.
A fundamental aspect of the Renters’ Rights Act is the banning of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions; landlords must now provide a legitimate reason to remove tenants. But in order to prove that a landlord evicting tenants to sell the property or move in has actually done so (and isn’t just reletting it), it is essential the database records when and why landlords have evicted tenants.
The Act also gives renters the right to challenge above-market rent increases at a tribunal, but there are currently few ways for renters to prove what the ‘market rate’ is. Often tribunals use advertised lettings to gauge local rents – but those are speculative and nearly always have higher rents than people are actually paying on average. If real rents were included in the database, renters and the tribunal would have a much more reliable set of data at their fingertips.
Collecting rent data will also make it easier for the government to bring up Local Housing Allowance in line with real rents. This benefit is supposed to help lower-income renters cover their housing costs, but there is a huge shortfall between LHA rates and the actual cost of rents. For the bottom 30% of rents in England, renters receiving LHA still have to shell out £350 from their own pocket for a 1 bed home - and that goes up to £508 for a 3-bed. We need the government to make sure local housing allowance is actually enough to secure a home, and data on how much rent is being charged is crucial in this.
We also want the database to include whether a landlord has ever had any formal enforcement action taken against them, acting like the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker which has been used in London since 2017. This would let renters know more about a landlord’s previous conduct before starting a tenancy with them. Information on accessibility features of homes should also be included to help disabled renters make informed decisions when they are looking for a home.
Most importantly, key data must be made accessible to the public in order to empower renters and ensure they can hold landlords accountable.
2. Confirm the fee structure for the database and commit to using the resulting funds to provide sustainable, predictable resourcing for local authority enforcement of renters' rights.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to enforce the Renters’ Rights Act, but these local authorities are chronically underfunded by central government and revenue is often unpredictable. If you’re a council hiring new enforcement staff, that makes it hard to offer permanent roles and hire the officers you need to meaningfully support renters in practice. Funds can be raised through the fee landlords must pay to register with the database, but in order to make a difference the fee must be set at a high enough level to support local authorities. The revenue must also ring-fenced for the specific purpose of enforcing renters’ rights.
3. Progress implementation of the database at pace and ensure its timely national launch for renters, landlords and local authorities.
Lastly, we asked the Minister to make sure the database is published nationally as soon as possible. The database is a fundamental part of the Renters’ Rights Act, and the longer renters have to wait for it, the longer it will take for them to benefit from the new law. The Government has a real chance to empower renters and strengthen access to their new rights – it must seize this opportunity.
You can read the full letter, along with a list of organisations who co-signed, here.