£16m rogue landlord scheme fails to prosecute in four years

A SCOTTISH Government scheme set up in 2006 to root out rogue landlords has yet to prosecute any, despite widespread evidence of the rules being flaunted, it has been claimed.

More than 16 million has been invested in the Landlord Registration scheme, which made it an offence for private landlords in Scotland to let property without having applied to be registered.

The scheme, introduced four years ago this week, has received 162,503 applications from landlords. However, a new report by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) has revealed that not one landlord that has failed to register for the scheme has been prosecuted, while just 19 have had their registrations refused or revoked over the four years.

But John Blackwood, director of SAL, said it was made aware on a daily basis of unregistered landlords advertising and letting properties with little or no enforcement action being taken.

"SAL considers this practice to be unacceptable and indicative of a registration system that is not working and certainly not protecting the interests of tenants and good landlords who have complied with their legal duty to register."

He pointed out that the Scottish Government had provided more than 5m of grant funding for the scheme, with landlords contributing a further 11.5m of their own money to the scheme over the last four years.

Blackwood claimed the scheme had failed to meet its objectives as an enforcing regulatory regime. He said: "Where landlord registration has had an impact it is in forcing previously unwilling authorities to engage with the sector and recognise the role it has to play in raising standards in the private rented sector."

He said the estimated 16.7m invested would be better spent on engaging with landlords to raise the standards of properties and tenancy management.