The government talks about licensing landlords

So the government is considering forcing landlords to register, and ARLA have set up a voluntary scheme:

Arla today launched its own licensing scheme to cover all its members. Member agents will be obliged to adhere to a number of requirements, including holding a professional qualification, keeping client funds in annually-audited client bank accounts, and holding valid professional indemnity insurance.

Of course, as shelter says this is ‘a step in the right direction’, but makes you realise that we’re miles from home.  Presumably, before ARLA members could previously keep funds in unaudited bank accounts.

The government scheme seems to involve a £50 license for landlords that can be revoked thereby preventing them letting the property.  The times article includes this worrying quote:

Registered landlords would have to comply with certain standards and those who fail to carry out repairs or who intimidate tenants could be struck off. If that happened, all their tenants would have to move out, although this would not happen overnight, Whitehall sources suggested

This does not seem to address any security of tenure problems, but would perhaps in the long term shake out the bad landlords.  Although, this may well put more demand on the good landlords (pushing up rents) and create a market of unlicensed landlords (good for locating illegal immigrants, skunk farms, etc).

The real problem here is that a landlord needs to be compelled to provide decent housing if they fail to, and should therefore have funds set aside in escrow in case they are needed.  This is exactly how it works for tenants.  I wonder whether landlords would welcome replacing tenants deposits with a license?