Does requiring landlords to publish their address breach the Human Rights Act 1998?

Does requiring landlords to publish their address breach the Human Rights Act 1998?

0:01 AM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago 36

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The requirement for landlords to have their home address on a proposed public register, even if having a letting/managing agent, could be argued as a breach of Article 8 HRA 1998. ie – the right to respect for family and private life, home and correspondence. But only IF a court ruled that a landlord should have Article 8 as an absolute right and not a qualified right as the right to live your life with privacy and without interference by the state currently is.

As a qualified right Article 8 is being used by the RRB to discriminate against PRS landlords in favour of tenants and importantly members of the public who may, or may not be, prospective tenants.

It was bad enough having my address given to some tenants, s47-48 HA who became verbally abusive and threatening but to never be able to be removed from this register, even when no longer a landlord, is unjustifiable and I believe a breach of Article 8.

Many in society believe, rightly or wrongly, that ALL landlords are rich and some could use the proposed database to target for burglary; ethnic discrimination; some for grudges in general against landlords etc.

The final straw on this woman’s back and has more than confirmed my decision to vacate the PRS when the last government tried to introduce the RRB.

What do others think?

Thanks,

Judith


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Martin

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11:20 AM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

I totally agree with this sentiment.
I always naively had my home address on TAs when I started until I had very threatening phone call. Fortunately the tenant in question had a distinct lack of smarts and left it as an answerphone message.
Police involved and since then I have moved house ( not because of that). So it doesn't worry me now.
I have a PO box which goes as landlords address now.
If I am forced to record my home address on a public register I think I would offload my portfolio immediately.
More unintended consequences from the RRB.

Helen

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12:05 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

I was told by the NRLA that I had to have my home address on TA's unless I was incorporated. I wasn't happy about this as some of my properties were very close to my home. One tenant turned up at my door which was disturbing.

Archie S

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12:16 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

I completely agree that this is a step too far and is precisely the kind of thing that the NRLA should be pushing back on.

Given the money they receive from the PRS, they have the resources to push back on specific issues. Making sure LLs private information is not available online should be top of their agenda for actionable wins.

The merits/demerits of a database are an open question and allowing LAs to see which properties are being rented and the status of (EIRC, Gas Safety etc) if done efficiently (BIG IF) could be beneficial, but essentially creating an open database of LLs private information is certainly not required and a recipe for fraud/scams and potentially aggressive behaviour from tenants.

PH

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13:47 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

There is no need whatsoever for any LL address to be seen anywhere. GDPR rules should apply. We have to keep tenants details private which is rightly so and our details should be treated the same way. I'll be selling up if the idiots want my details all over the internet.

Paul Essex

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14:21 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

Actually I am more worried about activists and scammers misusing the information rather than our generally decent tenants.

DP

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16:39 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

Just spoken with NRLA regarding this very concerning 'another piece of legislation' potentially to harm 'private' landlords and been told to contact their Policy team to resist this. It is essential that we start to stand up for ourselves, enough is enough. I do not want my address details to be available on the internet to anyone and everyone at any cost, I do not do social media and I do not see the requirement for this. If a tenant wants to serve a notice or has a legitimate need to find my address they can do so but most business these days is done by email and works fine for most administration purposes. We need to resist and if its brought in simply boycott it on mass. Its time to fight back !

Stella

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16:50 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul Essex at 14/10/2024 - 14:21
Scammers and bogus agents will be delighted to get their hands on our home addresses and the property addresses.
I have already had a bogus agent take photographs from a property that I advertised and use them in an ad. he put on Zoopla and it was a big problem persuading Zoopla to take the advert dowm.
They said that they had to get PERMISSION from this bogus agent first.

Cider Drinker

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16:51 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

I’m happy to give my address to my tenants. I wouldn’t be happy to have it publicly available and linked to my properties online. This would make fraudsters lives so much easier.

When you look up an MOT on the MOT checker, it gives a reference number for the test station without actually identifying it.

There is no valid reason for a landlord’s name and address to be publicly available, I’d argue that there is no reason to identify the tenure type of a property. My tenants might not want the world to know that they rent their home.

RGJ25

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18:43 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

Should shareholders of petrol companies have their addresses published so that they can be targeted by Just Stop Thinking and their ilk? How about those whose pensions are invested in such companies? No difference really between that and a landlord with a corporate agent.

DP

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19:00 PM, 14th October 2024, About a month ago

So what is being planned or form will this register take ie a persons portfolio listed against their name/address or address of individual let properties by postcode with the landlords name and address against ?
Does anyone know?

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