Landlords could be liable for letting agent compliance errors, 1st Avenue warns
The warning follows the introduction of the Renters' Rights Act (RRA) and comes as landlords face increased obligations.
Landlords could remain legally responsible when letting agents make compliance errors, according to Paul Endacott of 1st Avenue.
The warning follows the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) and comes as landlords face increased obligations across areas including Right to Rent checks, tenancy management, licensing requirements and property standards.
Endacott said landlords should not assume that appointing an agent removes their legal exposure.
He said: “Your letting agent can get your right to rent checks wrong, and you can still be the one facing the fine, because the responsibility starts with you, the landlord.”
Potential consequences of non-compliance can include civil penalties, restrictions on eviction rights and, for more serious or repeated offences, criminal prosecution or banning orders.
Endacott said the changing regulatory environment meant property management was increasingly becoming a compliance and risk-management function rather than simply a matter of finding tenants and collecting rent.
As a result, landlords may need to take a more active role in checking the processes used by their managing agents and ensuring evidence is available to demonstrate that regulatory requirements have been met.
This could also become an increasingly relevant consideration for brokers when discussing landlords’ wider portfolio plans and the additional regulatory pressures facing their businesses.
Endacott said: “Outsourcing the job doesn’t automatically mean you’ve outsourced the risk.”
He added: “The biggest risk facing landlords today isn’t necessarily a bad tenant. It may be assuming someone else is managing compliance when, legally, the responsibility still comes back to the landlord.”
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