Eviction firm Landlord Action is calling for a blacklist of persistent rogue tenants to be made public.

The Housing and Planning Bill is currently making its way through Parliament following a Government consultation on tackling bad landlords and improving the private rented sector. 

Some of the consultation’s key discussion points include introducing banning orders and civil penalties of up for £5,000 for rogue landlords, speeding up repossessions of abandoned properties, and producing a blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents. 

But Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action and a contributor to the consultation, is calling for the Government to show greater equality and more openness by tackling problem tenants too. 

“We are constantly hearing about rogue landlords and agents. But to address issues in the private rental sector, we should also consider rogue tenants. Last year there were 161,000 possession claims issued in England and Wales. At present, there is no central database where possession orders with money claims are registered, as the courts do not recognise possession claims with arrears as a County Court Judgement,” said Shamplina, “If they did, this information would show up on tenant referencing. At present, a rogue tenant can move from property to property running up rent arrears and it does not show up on referencing unless the landlord goes to additional expense of trying to enforce the money order. If we are to protect landlords at pre-let stage, in the same way we wish to protect tenants, this should also be made available.”