Which?, the consumer group, responded to the new licensing scheme in the buy-to-let property industry by calling landlords and agents to join the “compulsory complaints scheme”.

The new Association of Residential Landlord Agents (ARLA) licensing scheme and the planned landlord registry scheme launched on 5^th May, 2009, were to generate new regulations to the buy-to-let industry. The schemes proposed by ARLA and the Government, aim to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords and unprofessional agents with some “codes of practices”. Consequently, these will affect the agents and landlords, leaving them to face higher maintenance and administrative costs on their business and investment. These licensing systems should, therefore, be effective “to eliminate those who can’t be bothered to manage their properties properly”, advised by Liam Colins from Directory of CBS*.

New licensing schemes are set to improve the quality of the rented property and increase the rights of the tenants. Landlords and agents may get struck off the registers when they fail to perform under these “regulations”.

Which?, the consumer group, revealed that the main concern of the tenants was the fear that the new scheme would not be enough to go far. This fear is rationally arisen from the failure of the last attempt - Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme. The Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme was designed to protect tenant’s deposit and justified the reasons of landlords to keep the tenant’s deposit. However, the scheme was not successful since some of the landlords did not participate in it. And the incidence of rouge landlords unfairly withholding the deposit still highly exists.

Which? also exposed that they have received many calls from the tenants regarding the poor living conditions and deposit problems with landlords. Yet, not all the landlords will be involved in this activity even the aim of the schemes is to protect the tenants. For this reason, Espe Fuentes, Legal Service lawyer of Which?, suggested that all letting agents and landlords should join a compulsory complaints scheme at a minimum”. By suggesting the “compulsory complaint scheme” to all landlords and letting agents would enable the buy-to-let property market to “separate the wheat from the chaff” and protect the tenants from suffering under the hands of deceitful landlords and letting agents.

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