What is it?
The Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker is a new public database introduced by Mayor Sadiq Khan. It names and shames unscrupulous private landlords and letting agents who have been prosecuted or fined for housing offences such as allowing homes to fall into a bad or dangerous condition - for example, through overcrowding, providing poor escape routes or badly maintained fire doors.
How does it work?
The checker allows you to find out whether a current or future landlord has a record of such offences, to help you make an informed choice about where you live. It will also allow you to easily report a landlord or agent whom you suspect of unscrupulous practices.
Who does the checker cover?
At the moment, landlords and agents from ten boroughs - Brent, Camden, Greenwich, Islington, Kingston, Newham, Southwark, Sutton, Waltham Forest and Westminster - are on the database. This will allow 600,000 tenants, a quarter of London renters, to check for rogue landlords and agents in their area.
What about other boroughs?
Eight more boroughs - Barking and Dagenham, Croydon, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets - will submit records to the database in the next few weeks. The Mayor wants all London councils to add their data, to help protect tenants in their areas.
What information is on there?
You can use the checker to see:
o Landlords and agents’ full names
o What type of action was taken against them, for what offence, and any fines
o Who undertook the enforcement - for example, a London borough
o The address of the property where the offence took place
o Part of the landlord’s home address
For legal reasons, names are only visible to the public for a limited time, typically 12 months. A private database will hold records for up to 10 years, to allow authorities to get a full picture of a landlord or agent’s past when conducting investigations.
Where can I find it?
The Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker is on the City Hall website here: www.london.gov.uk/rogue-landlord-checker