Naming rent dodgers would damage landlords’ reputation, says NLA

Posted under General by Jermaine

The naming and shaming plan for rent dodgers by the Liverpool based Sutton Estate has been condemned by the National Landlords Association (NLA). It reacted sharply against the plan saying it would damage landlords’ reputation and was a ‘recipe for disaster’.

The Daily Post had earlier this week reported that Liverpool based Sutton Estate had put up ‘rent dodger’ signs on the houses of tenants in Merseyside who did not pay their rents for long. The displayed signs had ‘rent dodger lives here’ scripted on them and showed shadowy image of a running away person. These signs designed to deal with ‘serial non-payers’ have created controversies and invited condemnation from different quarters.

In spite of raging controversies Neil Heffey, a partner in Sutton Estate declared that he would continue with the approach. The purpose behind putting up signs on properties of rent defaulters is to pressurise tenants into either moving out or paying up. The legal experts opined that by resorting to this approach agents would be exposing themselves to possible legal action.

But Neil Haffey clarified that all cases would be treated individually and tenants with genuine reasons would be not be subjected to this tactics. Simon Gordon, NLA’s Communication Head while opposing the practice stated that it was illegal and would only alienate tenants. While acknowledging the hardships caused to landlords and agents by the failing tenants, he declared that this method of public humiliation was a recipe for disaster and would damage sector’s reputation.

The NLA advised landlords and letting agents to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and urged them to find a better way.

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