Local Authorities using Credit Checking to Trap You and Identify Your Tenants

Local Authorities using Credit Checking to Trap You and Identify Your Tenants

14:32 PM, 10th March 2022, About 2 years ago 5

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It has come across my desk from more than one local authority and in multiple cases that the Council is checking information with Consumer Credit Reference Companies as part of their enforcement, and they are not making a secret of it!

They write along the lines of: “Our intelligence tells us that the property was running as an unlicensed HMO.

“The inspection of the property demonstrated that there were at least 3 occupants of whom two were unrelated.

“There was the appearance of shared facilities by sharing bathroom and cooking facilities, they pay rent and they live in the property as their main residence.

“The council has also undertaken credit searches, and this identified that there were many people living at the property who appear to be unrelated.”

There are no lengths a local authority will not go to, in order to gather evidence.

You shout “data protection, how can they”?

They do and they will.

There is a lot that can be said. Remember these are the same hypocrites that fine landlords in the £10,000 and at the same time the tenants in their own stock live in squalor and disrepair. Recent TV and press have shown this.

Since 2004 the Housing Act 2004 has exempted various bodies including your local authority from prosecution for the same crimes the private rented sector is heavily fined for.

Bit by bit they chip away destroying the Private Rented Sector.  The Golden Goose story is all too well known.

Be Aware – Be Compliant


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Comments

Mike

1:29 AM, 11th March 2022, About 2 years ago

How can they relate people not from the same family? suppose there were 3 individual all cousins with different surnames, so they can be related through their mothers or step mother's family as mothers of all three will bear different surnames, and not their maiden names. So how can they prove they are not related? Are they going to take the next step and check their DNA, pathetic!

TheMaluka

9:46 AM, 11th March 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 11/03/2022 - 01:29
I have never understood the logic that makes a family occupation exempt from HMO regulations.

Mike

12:38 PM, 11th March 2022, About 2 years ago

As well as suppose two or more individuals turn up to rent a house, and they all claim to be related, do you take their word for it, or ask them how are they related when each one has a different surname, if they were cousins from the Paternal side, they may all have the same surname but if they were cousins from Maternal side, their surnames would not match, so what do you do in this scenario? Of course I would get them to declare that each one is related to the others through Maternal link and all are cousins, so you can let them your house as a family home instead of an HMO. You have to cover your back so get this declaration signed by them all. One more thing is that many children are born outside a wed lock, yet they can be related to one another, so even asking for a proof of marriage certificates cannot prove otherwise that they are not related.

Mick Roberts

16:21 PM, 12th March 2022, About 2 years ago

I'd like to know what they can & can't do.
In Nottingham, they knocking on peoples door's that aren't Licensed to see if the person is renting. As I was told by my MI6 insiders that they wasn't allowed to go to Council Tax next door to see if different person paying Council Tax than the person on the Land Registry-Which they do go to as that is public records.

I've also been told from my CIA Agents that they've got wind (2 years ago now) that I haven't paid a Selective License on one of my houses, & are asking secret questions to everyone but me. It is a family member, but they don't know that & haven't asked me yet 'cause if they're wrong, they know I put embarrassing situations in the Media. They know it's mine, so I don't get why they just don't get it over with & ask the question.

Ron H-W

21:25 PM, 12th March 2022, About 2 years ago

I once had a dodgy tenant who committed electoral fraud in order to commit financial fraud (!)

In a 1-B flat, he gave 4 unrelated male names on the Electoral Return, and a different 4 the following year.
But he was the only one who ever slept there.

this was so "they" could lease a car, renege on the payments and ignore the parking and RTA penalties, also ignore credit-card bills etc.

Fortunately for me, this was before the above enforcement ideas had been thought of!
Because this tenant gave me problems enough as it was!

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