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Rise in landlord approval figures
30/04/2008
The national approval rate for Scotland's Landlord Registration Scheme has increased from 15 per cent to 75 per cent in the last 12 months and the number of landlords' applications which have been approved has risen by more than 500 per cent from 13,500 to around 86,000 today.
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell revealed the news on the second anniversary of the introduction of the registration scheme, which is designed to ensure that all private landlords meet minimum legal requirements.
In a speech at the National Landlord Day conference, Mr Maxwell also announced the launch of the new National Landlord Accreditation Scheme, Landlord Accreditation Scotland (LAS), which is designed to go beyond the minimum requirements of landlord registration by promoting best practice in the private rented housing sector.
LAS will raise standards by encouraging private landlords to seek voluntary accreditation as a way of rewarding them for managing their properties to certain standards. Members will also need to agree to attend at least one training course each year to ensure there is a commitment to continuous improvement in their practices.
The scheme will also allow tenants looking for a property to find out which landlords are meeting these higher requirements.
Mr Maxwell said:
"I am extremely pleased to see that the approval rates of applications to the Landlord Registration Scheme now stand at 75 per cent. Also, the total number of landlords who have applied for registration has increased by over 50 per cent since May 2006 to over 113,000 today.
"I know that local authorities have put considerable effort into improving the delivery of the scheme over the past year and we can see that this is now paying off.
"There is still work to be done and I want to focus our efforts on enforcing legislation and removing the worst landlords who continue to give the sector a bad reputation. The substantial increase in the number of registration applications does indicate that enforcement of the scheme is improving.
"The introduction of the Landlord Accreditation scheme, a scheme run by landlords for landlords, will further benefit both landlords and tenants in the private rented sector."
John Blackwood, director of the Scottish Association of Landlords, added:
"The Scottish Association of Landlords has been campaigning since 2002 for the introduction of a national landlord accreditation scheme that will finally give recognition to the majority of landlords who provide a quality service to their tenants.
"Reputable landlords want to see landlord registration take the appropriate action against rogue landlords and welcome a landlord accreditation as a positive step towards engaging with landlords and letting agents in promoting best landlord practice in Scotland."
Archie Stoddart, director of Shelter Scotland, said:
"We fully supported landlord registration as a way to raise standards in the private rented sector and remove rogue landlords. Progress was far too slow to start with but it is encouraging that 75 per cent of landlords are now registered. We hope it that it will not be long until that figure is 100 per cent.
"We welcome the new National Landlord Accreditation Scheme as complimentary to registration and a way to recognise good landlords."
Mr Maxwell launched the new Accreditation Scheme at the Scottish Association of Landlords annual conference, which marks National Landlord Day.
Landlord Accreditation Scotland is owned by the Scottish Association of Landlords and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association.
The Scottish Government is providing £321,671.50 in grant funding to LAS to contribute towards the start-up costs of the National Accreditation Scheme. LAS is expected to eventually become self-financing.
The accreditation scheme will build on the experiences of four pilot local schemes, which were funded by Communities Scotland. It will be free for landlords to join while letting agents will need to pay an annual membership fee. Landlords and agents will be able to apply to join the scheme from June.
In order to join LAS, landlords and letting agents will need to certify that they meet the Scottish National Core Standards and Good Practice Guidance for Private Landlords. LAS will check that each landlord is registered with the relevant local authority(ies) before approving their application. There will also be random inspections of properties and documentation, along with surveys of samples of tenants in accredited properties, to ensure landlords and letting agents are meeting the required standards.
Since April 30, 2006, private landlords in Scotland have been required to apply to any local authority where they let property for registration. As at April 30, 2008, 75 per cent of the 113,529 landlords who have applied for registration have had their applications processed and approved. The majority of local authorities have now approved more than 75 per cent of applications.