Scotland cracks down on rogue landlords

Published 11th Oct 2010

While many landlords often feel they drew the short straw when landed with a never ending supply of ‘problem' tenants, for every dodgy renter there is an errant landlord - and Scotland is proposing a series of tough new measures aimed at weeding out these rogues...

Scottish Housing Minister Alex Neil has announced that the new proposals, listed within the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill, could see rogue landlords being fined up to £50,000 and banned from operating for up to five years.

Far from tarring all landlords with the same brush, Mr Neil has said that the new proposals, if passed, will highlight and protect the reputation of all decent, law-abiding landlords by improving the law on how they are registered, alongside weeding out the baddies.

The planned legislation will also give councils across the country more power to tackle bad landlords by allowing them to demand a criminal record certificate from all prospective private landlords to verify information, alongside furthering the list of criteria which establishes whether someone is fit to rent out properties.

The bill would introduce a compulsory pre-tenancy information pack aimed at raising awareness of rights and responsibilities among tenants as well as providing them with the information they need to start a tenancy.

It will also crack down on any flouting of the Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) laws by tightening up registration of such homes.

Bad landlords aren't the only ones to be held under the spotlight by the suggestions, announced at Holyrood this week. Unscrupulous estate agents who excel in charging clients extortionate premiums for their services will also be held to account.

Mr Neil said law-abiding landlords had "nothing to fear" from the proposals. "We want to encourage a vibrant and responsive private rented sector, which provides good-quality and well-managed accommodation," he said.

"I see the private rented sector as more important than ever in providing good-quality accommodation, given the economic challenges that face the public sector.

"The bill sends a clear message to bad and unlawful landlords that they will not be tolerated, and gives greater powers to local authorities to tackle the problem," he added.

Housing and homeless charity Shelter Scotland described the bill as a ‘welcome step in the right direction' but said it had concerns about the HMO measures designed to tackle overcrowding.

Director Graeme Brown said, "Local authorities would be given powers to force landlords to reduce the number of people living in a property.

"This could result in vulnerable tenants being made homeless so we think this section needs to be reconsidered," he added.

Source: ' TMC '

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