You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
CIH NI calls for government-backed property management scheme
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Northern Ireland has called for a government-backed licensing scheme for Northern Ireland’s private landlords.
It said its Learning 2 Let pilot – backed by the Department for Communities – had trained 230 private landlords and letting agent staff since its inception last year. Two-thirds of the people trained said they changed their practices as a result of gaining a CIH qualification through the programme.
Nicola McCrudden, director of CIH Northern Ireland, said: “Private rented accommodation plays a critical role in meeting housing need and [while] standards are generally good, they can’t be guaranteed throughout the sector. We are still seeing tenants at the lower end of the market living in unsatisfactory conditions.”
READ MORE
She said the current mandatory landlord register was insufficient as it was a “purely administrative system” and enrolment was not dependent on a landlord’s knowledge.
“Landlords and letting agents who have participated in our Learning 2 Let project say it has improved their knowledge and that they have changed their practices as a result,” Ms McCrudden said.
“We are calling for the introduction of a licensing system built around training accreditation, which would ask landlords to demonstrate how they are qualified in property and tenancy management.”
This would help good landlords to promote themselves, and assist in safeguarding tenants against rogue landlords, poor quality dwellings, and industry malpractice, she said.
Northern Ireland has 49,857 registered private landlords and more than 128,000 private rented homes, representing 17.4% of the housing stock and exceeding the size of the social sector.
