Fit and Proper Landlords and Tenants – Consequences?

Fit and Proper Landlords and Tenants – Consequences?

11:44 AM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago 15

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I have heard the words “Fit and Proper” mentioned a lot of late in terms of regulation of landlords and letting agents.

It would appear that society would like fit and proper landlords only to rent their properties to fit and proper tenants.

* When deciding whether or not a landlord is a fit and proper person to let out property the authorities in Scotland perform the following checks to ensure there is no ……

  • Information showing that the landlord has committed fraud, or violent or drug related offences.
  • Evidence of discrimination in any business activity.
  • Information showing that they have broken any other laws in relation to housing.
  • Information showing that they are a bad landlord, or that they have been a bad landlord in the past.
  • Antisocial behaviour problems in any properties the landlord rents out or is responsible for.
  • If the landlord has an agreement with a letting agent (or anyone else who’s acting on their behalf in letting the property), that the terms of that agreement are adequate.
  • Anything else which is relevant.

Now as any NIMBY will tell you, nobody wants a landlord to let a property to a bad tenant in their area. Therefore, the government also want landlords to be responsible for ensuring their tenants are entitled to live and work in the UK and also to be accountable for any anti social behaviour of their tenants. In fact, it was anti social behaviour which spurned the Scottish Government to make landlord registration compulsory. In other words, a landlord could actually be prosecuted for the behaviour of his tenants. Therefore, landlords also need to ensure their tenants are fit and proper law abiding citizens and will not be a nuisance to their neighbours or society in general.

Wonderful you might think!

Fit and Proper Landlords and Tenants

But let me ask you a question; what about the people who are not “fit and proper”?

Where will tenants who are not fit and proper live?

The days of shipping undesirables off to the Colonies or taking them to the nearest place of execution where they shall be hung by the neck until they are dead, dead dead are long gone!

So what’s the answer?

* Source:-

http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/renting_rights/landlord_registration/the_fit_and_proper_person_test


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Comments

Neil Patterson

13:48 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Wow that is a long list of criteria to be fit and proper.

I wonder how on earth it would be policed and if it would even be possible to effectively.

Apart from Money Laundering regulations that affect all industries and under age rules I wonder what other industries have to take responsibility for their customers actions.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

14:10 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

It already exists in Scotland Meil and has done for many years. It is the policing, or should I say the virtuslly complete lack of policing, which is raiding so many eyebrows.

As you say, it's impossible to police so what's the point?

Barbara Thorning

15:27 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Eugenics?

Neil Patterson

15:33 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tilly Mint" at "17/09/2013 - 15:27":

Sorry to be thick Tilly I had to look it up:

noun
[treated as singular]

the science of improving a population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.

Barbara Thorning

16:08 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Neil Patterson" at "17/09/2013 - 15:33":

I was being a bit tongue in cheek Neil because it's such an absurd unachievable requirement to put on Landlords.

Perhaps it could just be applied to the lawmakers?

Jay James

16:22 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

The forum 'rant about Scottish letting regulation', url:
http://www.property118.com/rant-about-scottish-letting-regulation/43439/comment-page-2/#comments.

Some of the comments from page two, 16-09-13 onward relate to this forum.
Worth a ten min read.
They highlight some of the ridiculous aspects of increasing responsibilities put on LLs.
Just remember that some of it is tongue in cheek to highlight the ridiculous.
--
Eugenics was studied recently, it's serious side is sickening, but its' tongue in cheek use here seems appropriate to the (apparent) requirement to weed out certain sorts of tenant / LL.
Or is it really buck passing and not an attempt to increase standards?
--

Jay James

16:25 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tilly Mint" at "17/09/2013 - 16:08":

aha, just read this after putting my previous comment. think we all get that it was T-I-C to focus on the ridiculous.

Neil Patterson

16:32 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tilly Mint" at "17/09/2013 - 16:08":

Totally realised it was TIC Tilly as I was also taking the mic out of my own lack of linguistic skills lol

Or I should have added this is not a view held by Property118 just so we don't get caught by the PC police.

16:42 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

I can tell you exactly how it has worked in Middlesbrough - what was a poor but reasonably decent area (North Ormesby, where I own 2 houses) is now full of the scum that got shifted out of TS1 by the Selective Licensing regulations. So now I have a problem getting anyone, let alone decent tenants, to rent my two houses in the area. Thanks, guys.

Jay James

16:47 PM, 17th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jerry Jones" at "17/09/2013 - 16:42":

TS1? a postcode? Teesside?
--
That's both unfair and ridiculous Jerry.
Could you sell up and buy where you can more readily let?

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