Tenants’ groups have called on the government to include rent data and details about evictions in the new PRS Database.

More than 30 groups including Acorn, Generation Rent, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London Renters Union and UNISON have written to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook urging him to expand the scope of information collected and make it publicly accessible to ensure landlords can be held accountable.

They say while renters can now challenge above-market rent increases at tribunal, they can’t be expected to do this if they lack access to meaningful information to compare rents in their area.

Collecting this data would also make it easier for the government to bring up Local Housing Allowance in line with real rents and allow HMRC to compare tax records with declared rents, enabling a crackdown on landlords avoiding tax - estimated to cost £1.7 billion per year.

Prove

The letter explains: “In order to prove that a landlord evicting tenants to sell the property or move in has actually done so, it is essential the database records when and why landlords have evicted tenants. This could be streamlined by enabling landlords to fill out a notice for possession via their account on the database.”

Recording formal enforcement action taken against a landlord would not only support local councils in monitoring criminal landlords; it would also let tenants make informed decisions about who they rent from, which would disincentivise landlords from breaking the law.

The groups suggest charging an annual fee of £46 per property when the database launches later this year, which would help fund councils’ enforcement activity, while imposing only a minor cost on landlords.

The letter adds: “If the database fails to collect the right data, if the registration fees for landlords are too small, or if the database is not in fact publicly accessible, it risks becoming a bureaucratic hoop, rather than the transformative tool renters’ need in order to exercise their new rights.”

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