A national landlord and property register: how it could work in practice

A national landlord and property register: how it could work in practice [ 200 kb]

In 2019, the Committee on Fuel Poverty recommended ‘that a national mandatory PRS [private rented sector] registration scheme should be set up covering England, and that it should be run centrally but accessed and enforced by Local Authorities locally.’ A few months after, the government-commissioned Independent Review of Selective Licensing made a similar call. Julie Rugg and David Rhodes, at the Centre for Housing Policy, have long called for a national landlord register and a property ‘MOT’, and others have added their voices in support. Government is now consulting on rogue landlord database reform. 

While we are pleased the government is consulting on reforming the rogue landlord database, we don’t believe reforming this will be enough to tackle bad standards. Tenants in the private rented sector must have access to enough information to be able to make informed decisions - as they do in other consumer markets. Only a national landlord and property register will achieve this. It’s also the crucial first step in streamlining processes so there’s better enforcement action to tackle bad behaviour.