Recommendation 12

If the decent homes standard is to improve standards in the private rented sector, local authorities will have to enforce it vigorously, but at the moment levels of housing enforcement activity vary hugely between local authorities. We accept that much enforcement activity is, and should remain, informal, especially, at least initially, where landlords are non-compliant out of ignorance, but if the proposals are to deter the very worst landlords, enforcement rates will have to improve significantly across the vast majority of local authorities. For this reason, we welcome the proposals to improve enforcement, particularly the property portal, which could be revolutionary, provided it is designed and implemented properly and holds the right information. To this end, the Government should include the following in the information landlords are required to enter on the property portal: all gas and electrical safety certificates and reports; any other reports generated by tradespeople; energy performance data; and details of ombudsman membership and membership of a deposit protection scheme. Furthermore, the Government should take action now to digitise the certificates and other reports that are to be uploaded to the portal, so that rather than being a mere repository of information that has to be trawled through, a coding system can be implemented to enable the portal to verify that documentation is in date and that there are no issues that need addressing. To deter landlords from entering false or misleading information, the 60 Reforming the Private Rented Sector Government should also introduce financial penalties for such offences. This would be consistent with its proposal for deterring landlords from self-declaring inaccurate information regarding compliance with the decent homes standard. Finally, we urge the Government to incorporate the functions of the database of rogue landlords and property agents into the portal as soon as possible.