Landlords wondering how the planned register for landlords in England may operate have been given a taste of what’s to come following a case in Glasgow.

Two landlords, one a company and the other an individual, have been prevented from operating within the country’s private rental market after their bids to be added to the its public register of landlords were rejected.

Glasgow’s licensing committee turned down bids from both Brookness Limited and Joseph Short to be added to the national register, effectively preventing them from renting homes legally.

The committee’s members were required to consider whether the two applicants were ‘fit and proper’ candidates to be landlords. The rejection was based on their failure to provide safety certificates when requested which is, under Scottish law, considered to be technically ‘anti-social behaviour’.

Three years

Landlords in Scotland must apply to join the national scheme via their local authority and pay £75 to do so plus £17 for each property, renewable every three years.

Council members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee heard that both Brookness and Short had been told to provide gas, electrical, fire and carbon monoxide safety documentation for properties operated by the two landlords but both had not done so, or submitted only some of them, reports Glasgow Live.

Committee chair Alex Wilson (pictured), who is an SNP councillor, said there were ‘serious safety concerns’ about the properties involved including one on Church Street, Baillieston (main picture), operated by Brookness.

Both landlords will now have to either sell the properties or hand over their management to a letting agency which is registered.

The rejection of both landlords’ applications is an example of how bad landlords can be excluded from the sector in Scotland, which is a key aim of the Renters (Reform) Bill currently going through England’s parliament, which in its current form will also require landlords to submit their personal and property details and record their regulatory compliance.

‍