Banning Order Offences
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (the Act) introduced a power for the First-tier tribunal to serve a banning order on a landlord or property agent. The purpose of the consultation paper is to invite views and comments on which offences should constitute banning order offences’.
A local authority can apply to a First-tier Tribunal for an order banning that landlord or property agent from being involved in the letting and/or management of property. A database will be created of rogue landlords and property agents showing who is banned from the property industry. The consultation paper described the range of offences which are proposed to constitute a banning order offence and do not all relate to property, they are:
Relevant housing offences
Immigration offences
Serious criminal offences
Other criminal offences
Our view is that criminal offences which do not relate to property should not constitute banning order offences, a person committing an offence unrelated to property does not constitute a rogue landlord or property agent. The consultation paper confirms that standards of private accommodation have risen substantially over the past decade and a recent survey showed that 82% of tenants are satisfied with their accommodation and we therefore take the view that although standards of housing must continue to rise, the consultation paper proposals are extreme measures to take when there is only a small minority of rogue landlords and property agents.