THE government should be clamping down on rogue landlords without overburdening the law-abiding.

This is the view of one leading Dorset landlord about government proposals to introduce a national registration system to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords.

The plans would mean private landlords would have to be registered before being allowed to let residential properties.

They would have to comply with certain standards and those who fail to carry out repairs or who intimidate tenants could be struck off.

The reforms are due to be outlined in a green paper within 10 days.

The number of buy-to-let investors has grown over the past decade to about one million in England and Wales, and ministers are worried that some rogue landlords are exploiting tenants.

Richard Price, director of operations for the National Landlords Association, owns a number of properties in Dorset.

He said such a registration scheme must work for the law-abiding landlords while helping to clamp down on the unscrupulous.

“People that are compliant with the law will always be compliant, so such a scheme should not be burdensome.

“Any registration needs to be thought out very carefully to make sure it targets the rogues,” he said.

He added the government needs to take a “handrails not handcuffs” approach.

“The top 10 per cent of landlords will strive to be the best and the bottom 10 per cent don’t give a monkey’s about the law. We want to help the 80 per cent push towards the top,” he said.

Jim Doerr, director of residential lettings at Goadsby in Bournemouth, said such a scheme could only be a good thing for the public.

But he added: “They need to go about it the right way and sort the scheme out first.”

The Association of Residential Letting Agents recently launched a licensing scheme for landlords to protect consumers from cowboy operators.

And the group’s sister organisation, the National Association of Estate Agents, plans to follow suit with the launch of its own licensing scheme later this year.


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