Labour’s looming PRS database will flush out the many landlords who don’t declare income to HMRC or who have been operating their properties using regular residential mortgages to fund their rental properties, it has been claimed.

The comments have been made by Giles Peaker (pictured), partner in the Housing and Public Law team at Anthony Gold Solicitors. He writes in his blog this is not its purpose, it would be a side effect of greater transparency.

When tackling the issue of why there isn’t a similar public register of problem tenants, he points out that the two issues are not comparable.

Compliance

The landlord database won’t, he says, contain information such as whether the landlord has had disrepair claims or civil harassment claims against them. Instead, it will simply be a register of compliance with statutory duties on landlords (GSC, EICR, Licensing. S.48 address, etc)

And he warns that a: “Register of ‘badly behaved tenants’ could only involve the private, civil law obligations of one party to another. (rent arrears, property damage, ASB/nuisance). As such it already exists – the Register of County Court Judgments.

“Because that is where a breach of civil and contractual obligations is adjudicated, the county court. Anything else would just be a recipe for defamation, character assassination and the whingeing of landlords – a legal minefield.

Basically, get a good referencing agency, then sue them if they cock up.”

“Because where else would the supposed information come from except landlords, who i) are not necessarily sane or ii) cognisant of their obligations?

“The tenants could of course obtain the details of who placed the entry and sue for defamation (the serious impact on them would be obvious). This, I’m sure you would agree, is not, on the whole, a good idea… Basically, get a good referencing agency, then sue them if they cock up.”