Just a little over a year after London Mayor Boris Johnson launched his "Good Landlord" scheme, the program was branded a failure. It was recently discovered that only 0.2 percent of adverts for privately rented homes mentioned that the landlord or letting agent has signed up.
Last year, Mayor Johnson launched his "Good Landlord" scheme called London Rental Standard. The aim of the program was to accredit good landlords and letting agents, and to improve rental standards across the city, reports the Guardian. Upon launch, the London Mayor has set a target for the program, and hoped that by 2016, the scheme would have accredited 100,000 landlords and agents. Now, a year later, the London Rental Standard only has 14,452 landlords, and 339 letting and managing agent firms who signed up for the scheme. This is based on the mid-June sign-ups listed on the program's website.
In the Guardian report, industry watchers cited that the sign-ups are very low given the 2016 target. Research from the Green Party suggested that the scheme failed to gain traction with the landlords and agents. In the property website Zoopla, only 114 adverts from a total of 62,521 listings for rental homes mentioned the scheme. This is equivalent to just 0.2 percent of all the adverts.
Tom Copley, Labour's London Assembly housing spokesperson said that it may take 100 years before the mayor's promise to accredit 100,000 landlords will be fulfilled, given the current rate of sign-ups, reports the Londonist. Copley describes it as "more than embarrassing, it's a scandal." The housing spokesperson also mentioned the need for real change in the private rented sector. He cited Londoners needing the assurance and security of longer tenancy agreements, a cap on rent increases and an end to no fault evictions.
Meanwhile, the mayor's office still considers the London Rental Standard scheme a success as announced by the deputy mayor for housing, Richard Blakeway, reports MayorWatch. Blakeway is referring to the number of properties signed up, which totals to 121,000 rental homes,that are managed by London Rental Standard accredited professionals. The deputy mayor said: "This is a huge success in one year and we look forward to working with thousands more landlords and agents to help get a better deal for renters as this scheme grows."
