Annex 4: Central online IT system for landlord registration
www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk
The online landlord registration website provides a central hub which can be used by:
- landlords and agents - to make applications and update their details
- local authorities - to manage registrations and provide online access to their register
- tenants and neighbours - to check whether relevant landlords are registered
This is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to the landlord registration IT system - a full user guide will be made available. This Annex will outline:
- processes
- Houses In Multiple Occupation ( HMOs)
- late application fee
- public searching
- local authority reports
Processes
There are a number of key processes for consideration:
- authorised users
- preparation for launch
- the registration process
• Authorised users
The system will use 'role-based security'. This means that each user will be assigned to one or more roles, and each role is authorised to carry out different actions and view different information.
- the Overall System Administrator will set up accounts for local authority system administrators and Scottish Executive users
- Scottish Executive Users will deal with payment processes and have access to statistical information. They will not have any access to personal information on the system
- Local Authority System Administrators will set up accounts for local authority users
- Local Authority Registration Officers and Registration Managers will have access to all information, personal and public, for all records for their own local authority area, as well as access to the public information on other authorities' registers. They will be able to upload and download information and reports, change the status of applications, and create and edit user accounts for public users and registered persons. Some changes of status ( e.g. refusal, approval after review) will be restricted to registration managers
- Registered Persons and Companies will be able to view their own records for all local authorities to which they have applied, and view the status of all their applications. 'Registered person/company' includes landlords, agents and prospective landlords who do not yet let property
- an Anonymous User is a person without a user account who will only be able to view public information for approved registrations, in one local authority at a time (see 'Public Search')
• Preparation for launch
Local authority review list
Each local authority needs to prepare and upload its 'review list'. This is the information which would trigger an application for registration to be diverted for review by a local authority officer, including landlords, agents or property addresses about which concerns have been raised or where the local authority wants to make contact with the owner. Every record must show the source of the information, for example a file number, so that the registration officer can check the reason for review. The system will divert applications if they match the review list on:
- individual's name and home address
- individual's name and date of birth
- company name
- let property address
Because there may be several applicants with the same name, the system requires additional information and will not match on name alone. It will, however, use a probability system, so it can manage some degree of mis-spelling or use of initials versus full name, for example. Local authority staff can upload a new review list at any time. A later release of the system, shortly after the initial go-live date, will allow local authority staff to amend the review list directly within the system.
To ensure effective matching with data entered in applications, all local authorities must provide their review lists in the same format. An xml schema will be provided for this purpose. The authority must check that the data is in the correct fields before uploading it.
Fees
A principal fee of £55 is charged for registration. The system will hold the rules to calculate all additional fees and discounts. Information on the site will provide details of how these additional fees and discounts will be applied.
• Registration process
This is how a landlord or agent will make an application for registration online. Where applications are submitted on paper forms, local authority staff will need to enter them in the system and the process will then follow a similar path.
The person will be prompted to enter a username and password, with some basic information about him or herself. The account then needs to be activated. An activation code can be sent out by email or by post, or it may be possible for the person to telephone the local authority and ask them to activate the account. This is to prove there is a real person involved, to avoid the system being spammed by systems that can generate automatic account requests.
Having logged in and activated their account, the user enters all their personal or company details, including statements about any convictions, accreditations, and any information required for discounts, such as charitable status.
The user enters details of the properties they own. The system uses address-matching software to ensure that addresses are always entered in the same format, to make searching and matching more reliable. It will ask for the postcode, or partial details, and complete the rest of the address. For flats, the system can offer a list of all flats in the building to select from, and there will be tips on how flat numbers are presented. If the address is not found, the person will need to contact the local authority - only registration officers and managers can override the address software for let property addresses. In particular, this will allow local authorities to use their own standards for identifying flats. (All users can override the software for home addresses, to allow for addresses outside the UK.)
The system will identify the local authority area for each let property address, and allocate the application to the relevant authorities. Agents and prospective landlords will be able to select the authorities they wish to apply to from a drop-down list.
If the user applies to more than one authority, the system will identify a "lead authority" for administration. This will be the authority where the user has the greatest number of properties, or the first property or first local authority entered. (We will keep this algorithm under review to ensure that lead authority responsibility is evenly distributed.)
For each property, the user can add an agent or co-owners. If an agent or co-owner has already applied for registration, the user can just enter their reference number, or enter their name and address and the system will match the records.
If an agent is not yet registered, the user will need to create a new account and enter whatever details they have for the agent, to generate a reference number. They must then pass the account details to the agent, to enter the rest of their personal information. Joint owners can be added directly as new users, within the main application, and the applicant can indicate if the joint owner is a member of their family and lives at the same address. The system will generate a user account and password and a letter will be generated prompting the co-owner to correct/complete the information. Co-owners or landlords and agents will not have access to one another's personal details (unless they choose to share passwords).
A registration cannot be approved until all the people involved have been passed as fit and proper persons.
The applicant must also identify a contact address for the property. This may be, for example, an office address rather than the owner's home address, or the local office for a company which has several.
The system will calculate the total to be paid, showing an itemised "shopping basket" of all the elements - each local authority, each property and any discounts. In most cases we expect the user to pay online by credit or debit card. The payment will be approved by a third party online payment service, and the money will go into a central account (held by the Scottish Executive) before being split up and distributed to local authorities by bank transfer. The payment will be accompanied by the registration reference number, for reconciliation purposes.
Alternatively, the user can choose to be sent an invoice to pay offline. Offline payment can only be made to one local authority at a time, but if the application has been made online up to that point, the user will still receive the multiple-authority discount. Each authority's invoice will be based on the amount they would receive out of a single online payment. On receipt of payment, the registration officer can mark the application as paid. It will be made clear to users that they should not attempt to pay before they receive an invoice, to facilitate reconciliation.
NB. Once all mandatory fields have been completed and payment has been made, the user has made a valid application and is not committing an offence by letting.
- Details issued for signature
The lead authority will print off the details entered by the user, including properties in all areas, and send them out to be checked, signed and returned. This ensures that the user confirms the information is accurate. The use of the lead authority at this stage simply reduces the amount of paperwork for the applicant. Where a new user has been added by someone else, as a co-owner or agent, this is the point at which they can enter their full details. When the signature is received back by the lead authority, they will update the status of the application on the system, which will be seen by all the authorities involved. (Applications received on paper will be marked as signed when first entered on the system.) Each authority will then proceed separately with the approval or review process.
If a signature is not received back within a certain time, the application will be marked for a reminder. After a further period, the application will be rejected.
- Applications diverted for review
When the application is completed and paid, the system will check it against the review list. It will also check other triggers, such as declared convictions or unlicensed HMOs (see below). If there is a match to the review list or any other trigger, the application will be identified for review by local authority officers. If an application is diverted as a result of a match to the review list of one local authority, all other authorities involved in that application will be informed, so they can, if necessary, enquire about the reason for diversion. If a local authority wishes to review an application which has not tripped any of the triggers to be automatically diverted, the status can be manually set to 'review' when the application is received.
The review process is for each local authority to determine according to its own procedures and scheme of delegation, and can be carried out at the same time as signature is sought from the applicant. Once the review process is completed, the registration manager will update the status of the application on the system. Each authority makes its own decision, and registration may be approved in one authority and refused in another, depending on the applicant's circumstances. The system will also allow an application to be marked as "under appeal" if necessary.
The system will set the status of the application as 'pending approval' if the following stages are completed:
- application not diverted for review
- all mandatory fields completed
- payment received
- signature received
A list of applications which have changed to "pending approval" status will be provided for each day. Applications can only be moved from "pending approval" to "approved" by a local authority user manually changing the status. This ensures that no applicant will appear on the register without active confirmation from local authority staff.
The local authority should then send a registration confirmation letter. Each authority will do this separately, to make clear that registration is granted by each authority individually. Either when seeking the signature or when confirming registration, the authority can ask the applicant additional, optional questions, and enclose information on private renting issues.
Details of applications requiring letters to be sent for signature, invoice or registration confirmation, or requiring review, will be provided through End of Day files. These will contain data fields which can be merged into standard letters. Both xml and csv formats will be supported for downloading. The Scottish Executive will issue model letters to assist local authorities with this task.
If the user amends his or her details at any time, the system will check whether any payment is required (for additional properties) or whether the new information triggers review, and will put the record back into the application and checking process if necessary.
Houses In Multiple Occupation ( HMOs)
Anyone who holds an HMO licence in a particular authority is exempt from paying a fee for registration in that authority, and it is expected that they will be automatically passported to registration. The following process has been identified as the simplest way to achieve this.
Before the system goes live to the public, local authorities will upload the information they hold for every HMO licence holder (including agents). The system will automatically generate a username and password for each person/company. It will try to match names and addresses from different local authorities, to create a single user account for each person, but any duplicates can be tidied up by registration officers, at the user's request.
The lead local authority will send out a letter to each HMO licence holder, containing their username and password and explaining about registration, making clear that it is the individual's responsibility to ensure the information online is accurate, and to register for any non- HMO properties they own.
If any person or company applies for registration as a new user, and declares any property to be an HMO, that application will be diverted for review to ensure that an HMO licence application is received. Where the person obtains registration first, and then applies for an HMO licence, local authorities should consider whether all or part of the registration fee can be deducted from the HMO licence fee.
Late Application Fee
The fee structure allows for the principal fee to be doubled, if the application is submitted only after the local authority has issued two separate requests for an application to be made. To make such requests, the local authority must know the name and an address for the applicant. They can therefore create a user account for that person, and put a marker on that account that it should be charged the late application fee. The user account details can be included with the second request letter, or alternatively the system should match the details if the person obtains a separate user account and applies under that, or submits a paper application that is entered by a registration officer. It may be advisable to include information about anyone subject to a late application fee on the review list, to check that they have been caught and matched with the pre-existing user account.
Public Searching
Concerns have been raised about how people might use information obtained from online registers. Examples of problems that might arise include:
- downloading lists of names and addresses to create mailing lists for unsolicited advertising
- identifying landlords with large portfolios of property, to target for robbery or protection rackets
- providing lists of property belonging to a particular landlord could lead to vandalism, putting tenants at risk, or libellous letters to current tenants, from anyone with a grudge
- identifying all rented property in an area could lead to victimisation or harassment of tenants
For this reason, it has been agreed that public searching of the registers should be restricted to individual properties or persons, and should avoid giving lists that would identify additional people or addresses on the register. Further information can be provided by local authorities, if they are satisfied with the enquirer's reasons for wanting that information.
In all cases, the user must specify the local authority whose register he or she wants to search, or the property address. Only one register can be searched at a time.
For neighbours or tenants who want to know the landlord / agent of a particular property. The user will be prompted to enter the address, usually the street number and name plus the town. The address matching software will complete the rest of the details, or offer options, to arrive at a single real address. The system will then search for that address in the register. If found, it will return the names of people registered in association with that address (owner(s) and agent) and the contact address.
- Registered Person/Company search
For prospective tenants, clients or business partners who want to know whether a particular person or company is registered in a particular authority. The user must first identify the local authority whose register he or she wants to search. As with the review list, a name on its own is not sufficiently unique to search on. The user must enter the name and either the home / registered office address or a contact address. The system will search for that data and will simply return a statement that the person is or is not registered with that local authority.
If no match is found, the user will be invited to contact the local authority. Local authority officers will be able to view the full register, and may be able to find a match where the details provided by the user are slightly inaccurate, or can note the person/company or property for further investigation.