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The government has reassured landlords it will safeguard their privacy in the PRS Database, but has provided no details on how. Property118 contacted the government after concerns were raised by landlords about privacy and how their data will be handled under the PRS Database. Under the PRS Database, landlords will be required to provide information about their properties, including the address, number of residents and bedrooms, as well as copies of gas, electricity and EPC documents. Safeguard the privacy of landlords The government told Property118 that data will be handled in line with data protection legislation, with further details to be announced in due course. A Ministry of Housing spokesperson told us: “The new database will help tenants make vital and informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement. “However, we will ensure we safeguard the privacy of landlords, and any data shared will be in line with data protection legislation.” The government adds that under future legislation, landlords will also be required to register any unoccupied properties before marketing them for let. Letting agents and landlords will need to include registration numbers on adverts. Transparency must be balanced with landlords’ privacy The PRS Database will launch regionally, with the first rollout set to begin in the West Midlands in December. Industry bodies have urged the government to clarify what information will be publicly available on the PRS Database ahead of its launch. Propertymark says a redacted version of a landlord’s address should be made available to help protect landlords’ privacy. Timothy Douglas, the head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, told Property118: “We support the principle of a national PRS Database, but transparency must be balanced with landlords’ privacy and personal safety. “When it comes to databases, Propertymark has previously supported making a redacted version of a landlord’s address available, rather than publishing a full personal address. That distinction remains important as information may need to be held for regulatory and enforcement purposes without being made publicly searchable. “The UK government should therefore clarify exactly what information will be publicly accessible and what safeguards will protect landlords from unnecessary privacy and security risks. Effective enforcement and transparency should not come at the expense of personal safety.” Landlords need urgent clarity The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) also echoed Propertymark's stance and urged the government to give more clarity on the information accessible on the database. A spokesperson for the NRLA said: “At the moment it’s unclear exactly what the architecture underpinning the PRS database is set to look like and how the new system will work in practice. “Given that the roll-out of the PRS database is set to start from December, landlords urgently need clarity on these points. “When it comes to data privacy, we believe that all safeguarding processes must be followed rigorously considering the vast quantities of data the new system is likely to possess.” Cost the PRS £327 million a year The NRLA has also warned that England’s planned landlord database could cost the private rented sector at least £327 million a year, with tenants ultimately footing the bill. Landlords will have to pay a £65 annual fee per property to register on the PRS Database. The NRLA spokesperson added: “More broadly, the ‘year one’ cost implications per property for landlords across the sector are likely to be considerable. The position of those landlords already complying with local licensing schemes under the new regime isn’t clear either. “Landlords need to have sufficient time to make the transition to the new system, so the government must take all the steps it can to allay landlords’ concerns.” The database fee will be charged alongside licensing fees in areas where councils operate their own schemes - which can reach as much as £2,300 per property, as charged by Arun District Council. Raise rents to cover cost Landlords are already factoring in the additional costs, with some warning they may need to raise rents to cover them. One landlord has said he will need to charge an extra £6 a month to cover the new database fee. Mick Roberts, one of Nottingham’s largest landlords providing homes to benefit tenants, wrote in an article for Property118 that councils already hold much of the information required for the database through selective licensing schemes. He wrote: “The government has just brought in yet another charge, a £65-a-year fee for each property to be registered on the PRS Database. That means you’ll need a rent increase of around £6 per month just to cover it. “All the information needed for the property database, the council already has for selective licensing. The council already charges around £1,000 every five years for this, which works out at £200 per year, or another £20 per month in rent.” The government has also warned that landlords who let or advertise a property without first registering it on the database could face a civil penalty of up to £7,000. Those who provide fraudulent information to the database could face a fine of up to £40,000. More questions than answers With the first rollout of the PRS Database only weeks away, landlords are being asked to pay for a system while concerns remain over privacy, costs and how the database will work in practice. For now, many questions remain unanswered, and whether the government can deliver greater transparency for tenants while adequately protecting landlords’ privacy remains to be seen.

Government fails to explain how landlord privacy will be protected under PRS Database

Author: Property118.com Landlord News Team

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