Landlord registration system proposed to be strengthened

Scottish ministers are consulting on proposals to strengthen the registration system for private housing landlords, with increased fees for applications.

Mandatory private landlord registration has been in place since 2004, but it is claimed that evidence suggests the current application process is not robust enough to ensure that all landlords understand and comply with their legal responsibilities. The consultation therefore seeks views on proposals to ask for additional information about compliance with legal duties relating to letting houses.

Landlord registration application fees have not increased since 2006, and to reflect the additional work and increased costs to local authorities of administering landlord registration within an expanding private rented sector – up from 5% of households in 1999 to 15% in 2016 – the consultation also seeks views on amending the current fee structure to ensure that fees are proportionate and reasonable to the authorisation process undertaken by local authorities. The basic proposal is for uprating to reflect the 26% general inflation since then, which would see the principal application fee rise from £55 to about £70. Discounts for joint owners, and for applying to more than one authority, could also be ended.

The proposals are intended to strengthen the system of landlord registration in a proportionate way that will help to ensure that homes rented to private rented sector tenants are of good quality and are managed professionally. Their main aims are to:

•  raise awareness about landlord responsibilities – requiring confirmation of compliance with certain legal requirements;
•  identify where further advice or support may be required;
•  provide better information for local authorities to carry out the fit and proper person test; and
•  improve confidence that anyone who is approved and entered onto the register is a suitable person to let houses.

Responses to the consultation will help to shape changes to the application process that will require landlords to demonstrate that they meet their legal responsibilities. They will also inform amendments to the way that fees are charged so that local authorities have enough resources to make informed decisions about who can be approved to operate as a landlord.

Click here to access the consultation. The deadline for responses is 7 June 2018.