Why do I have to register my rental property twice?

HI, I have been slapped with a £1,000 odd fee from Westminster Council for a licence to rent out my one and only property. I have given the council all the necessary documentation, and they have acknowledged this.

Why do I need to register the same information on a national database? And why am I asked to pay £65 per annum for this?

The national database will be so large that nobody is going to do anything with it. It’s simply a tax.

Westminster Council has not said that it is going to do anything for me as a landlady in return for the licensing fee. If my tenants, whom I cannot now choose, start a cannabis farm or annoy my neighbours, what are they going to do about it? Probably slap me with more costs.

The result of the RRA is that rentals are going up. I have to pay £60 a month to cover my costs if the tenant defaults, including legal fees. I have the licence fee and the National Database fee to pay. Yet the Rent Tribunals only work on the basis of agreed letting price for a similar property in your area.

All the diverse, small landlords are having to sell up to bigger landlords, who will have more power over the industry. They will sell off the small properties, and build huge blocks which meet the regulations.

Soon, every tenant will have to live in one of these blocks.

Is that really good for tenants, or for communities?

Rachel