Landlords weigh in on the Property Portal
Introduction
Examining landlords’ views on the Property Portal as put forward as part of the Renters’ Reform Bill was one topic of the 2023 Quarter 3 In Focus member consultation.
How comfortable are landlords with the idea of a Property Portal? Is the Portal an opportunity to streamline the process of demonstrating compliance and combat anti-social behaviour? What are some of the key concerns landlords have about the Portal?
The survey gathered views from just over 800 landlords in England and Wales. Only landlords who stated they rent properties in England were asked about the Property Portal.
What do we know about the portal?
- The Property Portal is intended to act as a ‘one-stop-shop’ where landlords can access guidance, understand their obligations, and demonstrate compliance.
- Landlords will be required to register themselves and their properties. Instances of banning orders, financial penalties, and regulatory breaches may be recorded on the Portal.
- Tenants will be able to access to details on their rights in addition to information about the property they are renting.
The idea of the portal as an online store of documents
Over half of landlords (53%) supported the idea of the portal as a ‘central hub’ for safety certificates compliance.
However, when asked whether this would be an improvement on the current practice of serving compliance documents to tenants direct, landlords surveyed were more sceptical:
Figure 1: Support for the idea of the portal as a 'central hub' for compliance and guidance
Digging deeper into the data, age emerged as key differentiator of views:
- Landlords under the age of 55 were more than twice as likely to view the Property Portal as an improvement on providing the tenant with paper copies of compliance documents.
The portal and anti-social behaviour
Given that certain data on the portal will be accessible to local authorities, the NRLA believes that the portal has the potential to improve the processes for dealing with anti-social behaviour.
One difficulty landlords and tenants have when managing and dealing with ASB is the process of collecting evidence of such behaviour at or around the property.
Landlords were asked whether they would support a feature of the portal whereby anti-social behaviour can be anonymously reported via an app or website:
Figure 2: Support for an inclusion of a feature in the Portal to report ASB
The results showed high levels of support for this innovation. Were an ASB-reporting element to be attached to the portal, more than half of landlords would be in support. Only a few landlords actively opposed the idea.
Landlord concerns about the portal
Comments left by landlords in the consultation highlighted several recurring themes:
- Privacy concerns
- Potential misuse of data
- Concerns about added bureaucracy and red tape
- A desire to see the Portal as a replacement for selective licensing
It would result in another layer of government bureaucracy
Putting property details on a portal would be an absolute gift to property fraudsters keen to pass themselves off as sellers
Could the portal mean the end of selective licensing?
Many licensing schemes are justified by the need to enforce against rogue landlords. To take action against bad practice, local authorities need data and intelligence on their rented sectors.
These schemes often impose substantial fees. Compliant landlords view these fees as poor value for money, especially in areas with low levels of enforcement activity. NRLA research indicates a wide disparity in enforcement activity.
The Property Portal will require landlords to register their properties online and evidence compliance. With this data accessible to local authorities, the NRLA believes that once established, the portal would negate the need for selective licensing.
This conclusion also reflects comments left by landlord members in the consultation:
I feel strongly that a Property Portal should replace and supersede local selective licensing schemes
Main concern is it will duplicate local authority Licensing scheme data and charge a second fee without giving real value to tenants or landlords
Summary
The Property Portal is seen by landlords as a promising tool with potential to simplify the compliance process offering clear guidance on obligations. It could also aid in the management of ASB.
Reflecting wider trends towards paperless, online processes, younger landlords are notably more enthusiastic about this digital shift. The apprehension among older landlords underscores the necessity for a simple and user-friendly platform design, ensuring it is accessible to all.
- To facilitate a smooth transition, the launch of the platform should be accompanied by comprehensive guidance, instilling confidence in both landlords and tenants about the new system.
Concerns about privacy, data misuse, and bureaucracy are issues that need to be given thought prior to the platform’s introduction.
Given the portal's objectives of providing (i) a registration system for rented properties and (ii) a method of logging and displaying compliance, the Property Portal makes it harder for local authorities to justify local, selective licensing schemes.
