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A legal expert is warning landlords to be wary of joining local council 'Safer Renting' schemes
These seemingly well-intentioned projects may have a hidden agenda – to gather information landlords may not be obligated to disclose.
Phil Turtle of Landlord Licensing & Defence says: "The concern lies in the potential for these schemes to act as a trap for unsuspecting landlords.
"By participating, landlords could be inadvertently providing information that could be used against them in the future."
The issues of concern for landlords include asking them to declare compliance with various regulations, says Turtle.
That request could be construed as an admission of guilt if the council later discovers a violation.
Also, councils may not have complete information on a landlord's properties and by joining the scheme, landlords may unwittingly fill in these gaps towards enforcement action.
Again, this could potentially lead to future investigations.
Turtle highlights a further concern: “The way the collected information will be used and stored is often unclear.
"Landlords may be unaware of how this information could impact them in the future."
He suggests that before joining any Safer Renting scheme, landords should carefully review its requirements and how the information will be used, and use a specialist in landlord housing law if required.
In addition landlords should maintain meticulous records of all property maintenance, inspections and tenant communication to help defend against any future allegations.
Turtle concludes: "Landlords play a vital role in providing housing for countless individuals and families. It's crucial they understand their rights and obligations, and approach these schemes with caution."
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Any landlord collaborating with councils, quite frankly, deserves all the pain that comes their way!
Never trust the establishment , they are not your friend
Reagan: " I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help."
He certainly spoke a lot of sense when he said the most terrifying words in the English language were those.
Never heard of the scheme, and would have avoided it anyway 👍🏻.
Never never do any form of business with a council and you won't go far wrong
Avoid this scheme like the plague!
Soouuunds Gggrreeaat where do I sign up?
Councils and the government are the thorns for landlord. Did not know this scheme but avoid giving any information to the council.
How do councils have the resources to run these (presumably optional) schemes when they are saying they are so underfunded to provide basic services? I get that if your property requires licensing then they have info about you, but for all the properties that don't, not sure what the purpose is?
Just found this which sheds a bit more light:
The council claims Safer Renting “is not a registration or licensing scheme but seeks to work with landlords to help them comply with a range of legislation.”
And it adds: “Through schemes like Safer Renting and Dorset Landlords the council is working proactively to raise standards and encourage best practice in rented properties.”
Unnecessary involvement with a council - We need that like a hole in the head.
OK so why can't we read comments on the next article? Was quite an interesting debate last time I looked!!
Kim Jon Norwood believes in censorship, yet does nothing about breaches of the Data Protection Act.
You would think any decent landlords association would be all over this.
Oh I forgot, no such thing.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes, shame we don’t have one.
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