In a bid to root out rogue property landlords who mistreat their tenants, the government shall soon be launching a series of measures to keep landlords in line. However the first question begs: will they work?

Their first initiative is to release a website – modelled on the travel website TripAdvisor – where tenants can post feedback about their landlords and their property lets.

Now whilst this review system will prove helpful for separating the good from the bad, the National Landlords Association is concerned that some tenants may log onto this website and write false reviews about law-abiding landlords.

Describing it as an opportunity for tenants to ‘landlord bash’, without strict regulation and maintenance this website could quickly become ineffective and harm the reputations of quality landlords. More importantly, negative experiences will always outweigh the positive, which as a whole could put homeowners off from entering onto the rental market…

Other measures set to launch in the coming 12 months are:

• A new housing hotline which will enable tenants to gain property advice if they are having problems with their landlords
• Making tenancy agreements a legal requirement
• A National Landlord Register where tenants will be able to see how well prospective landlords maintain their properties and respond to property faults

However, despite the best intentions of these schemes, the NLA is still concerned that they will prove ineffective at rooting out rogue operators. The new national register for example could end up penalising law-abiding landlords whilst driving bad landlords under the radar – an outcome that doesn’t benefit anyone…

It is undeniable that landlords are receiving mixed messages from the government. On the one hand they are encouraging landlords to extend their property portfolio in order to fill the housing gap. Whilst on the other, the government want them to be on a register, declare their addresses and also allow feedback to be posted about them on the internet.

With such strict regulations, there is little incentive to inspire property investors back onto the market… Not when they could face ‘landlord bashing’ unnecessarily.

Speaking on these measures, the Housing Minister John Healey feels confident that they will provide help and protection to the 3 million families across the UK who currently lives in private rented housing. With written tenancy agreements and the means to review their landlord’s track records, tenants will know exactly what they are entering into when they sign.

But will it work? Only time will tell, but with objections already appearing from the NLA and other property advisors these measures are not being warmly welcomed…

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