First Accredited Landlord for City of Lincoln’s Trusted Landlord scheme
The first accredited landlord has been accepted onto the City of Lincoln Council’s new Trusted Landlord Scheme.
The scheme provides advice and support to landlords, helping them to provide good quality, well managed privately rented accommodation.
It helps tenants by giving them peace of mind so that they can choose high quality accommodation from a trustworthy landlord, knowing that it has the City of Lincoln Council stamp of approval.
Trusted landlord David Hallgarth said: "We joined the Trusted Landlord Scheme and the DASH landlord accreditation scheme to give confidence to prospective tenants looking for decent, affordable accommodation in central Lincoln.
We hope that in time, this scheme will serve as an incentive to other landlords to improve their own properties in order to attract decent, responsible tenants.”
Last year, the council had a big crackdown on rogue landlords which was a great success. It has followed this up by launching the Trusted Landlord Scheme, which will set the standard in Lincoln for landlords and tenants.
The scheme is open to private landlords that are members of an existing accreditation scheme. If they meet the standards of that accreditation, they can join the Trusted Landlord Scheme.
A sample of the landlord’s properties within the city will be inspected to check that they meet current standards and the code of practice of their accreditation scheme, and that documents like gas safety checks are up to date.
Members of the Trusted Landlord Scheme will benefit from a streamlined licensing process for houses of multiple occupation, will be given the opportunity to deal with disrepair complaints before the council investigates, and will have exemption from proactive inspection programmes.
Trusted landlords also benefit from priority access to services such as the Deposit Guarantee, advertising of properties through the Choice Based Lettings system, and tenant referrals. Joanna Gray, Private Housing Liaison Officer, said
"The Tenant Passport Scheme gives landlords peace of mind when accepting tenants in receipt of benefits. The Council will carry out background checks on the potential tenant, provide a deposit guarantee and the first month's rent in advance. We arrange direct payment of housing benefit to the landlord or rent payment through the Credit Union."
The City of Lincoln Council and its accreditation partners are holding an information evening on 14 June where landlords can find out more. To book, email accreditation@lincoln.gov.uk .
To find out more about the Trusted Landlord Scheme visit www.lincoln.gov.uk/trustedlandlord
