Few landlords, property agents or tenants would find fault with the intent of the forthcoming registration of landlords, but most would find fault with its practicality and the haphazard manner of its introduction which has now been put back from 31st March till 30th April.

Originally scheduled to come into effect in November 2005, this latest delay to the introduction of the Scottish Executive-backed registration scheme was caused by the fact that the website necessary to register thousands of landlords throughout Scotland is still not functioning.

Local councils, which are required to carry out registration, were advised it would be ready by February 23rd, but that was then postponed until March 10, only three weeks before the legal deadline. The executive explained that its problem is with the online payment systems for those sending in their registration forms. But even with that going live, much more needs to be done to let tens of thousands of landlords know about their new legal duties.

The Scottish Association of Landlords has said that the executive programme is in a state of disarray and warned that local authorities and landlords have been left poorly prepared for the impact of the new law.

The scheme, introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004, aims to remove disreputable landlords from the market by making it an offence for a landlord to continue letting in Scotland without having submitted a valid application to register. It will be an offence for a landlord not to have applied for registration by the new deadline. Landlords of residential properties in Scotland must register, unless all the houses they let are covered by exemptions, for example if they let a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO).

The scheme hands local authorities powers to ensure that those landlords who fail to act in a fit and proper manner are prevented from letting properties and to take specific action against landlords who fail to take reasonable steps to manage any antisocial behaviour by their tenants.

To register, private landlords will be required to supply local authorities with a range of information, including their name, home address and details of any previous convictions. From 30th April, any unregistered landlord found to be renting out property can be fined up to £5000. And any property agents acting on behalf of an unregistered landlord will find themselves subject to an equivalent fine.

Mandatory registration should help safeguard tenants by ferreting out any rogue landlords who would put tenant’s lives at risk by renting out properties without undertaking proper safety inspections.

Whilst that is to be welcomed, a potential hitch associated with the scheme is that it will hand tenants access to their landlord’s name and home address - the registration scheme requires that landlord’s personal contact details be posted online on a public register - information from which tenants will be able to identify their landlord’s home telephone number, so that tenants will be able more readily to by-pass a property agent and go direct to the landlord with any problems arising themselves.

In practice, this means that landlords might wind up finding themselves on the receiving end of late night phone calls from angry tenants demanding that urgent action be taken to mend a broken boiler, a leaking fridge or to argue the case about the return of a deposit. These are just the kind of issues with which landlords typically appoint agents to manage on their behalf.

But property agents cannot apply for registration on behalf of their client landlords. Landlords must apply for registration themselves. That means that anyone about to depart the country to work abroad for an extended period and hoping to arrange for a property agent to rent out his or her home while they are away is likely to be left disappointed since they must firstly prove to the local authority that he or she is a fit and proper person and no agent will be able to accept an appointment to manage their property until such time as they have been approved. Needless to say, that approval process could take months.

Amongst all the uncertainty and confusion surrounding the registration of landlords, what is known is that the Executive is intent on widespread regulation of the private rented property sector with the aim of safeguarding the safety of tenants.

Whilst the fact that local authorities are adopting strong arm tactics towards curbing antisocial behaviour from rented tenants, will be welcomed by neighbours, responsible tenants and responsible landlords alike, it is vital that landlords make themselves aware of this registration scheme and take immediate action.

Jack Fulton is a Director at Ross + Liddell property managers www.ross-liddell.com

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