Readers are reminded that two important consultations close this weekend.

Both have ramifications for agents.

The consultation on government proposals to ditch Section 21 closes this Saturday at 11.45pm, as does the consultation on reforming the database of rogue landlords and letting agents.

While the plans to ditch Section 21 do appear to be set in stone, the Residential Landlords Association has warned against the abolition.

The RLA said that it would become harder and in some cases “practically impossible” for landlords to evict anti-social tenants.

The national database of rogue letting agents and landlords can currently only be inspected by local and national government.

The proposals include widening access to the public, and lowering the threshold from two civil penalties within 12 months to one, for landlords and agents to be added to the database.

The Government is proposing that regardless of whether or not they pay their fines, rogue agents and landlords should be removed from the database after 12 months.

One local authority, Oxford City Council, has said this is wrong, and that those on the database should have to pay their fines before taken off it.

ARLA has also argued that letting agents should have access to the database so that they can make informed hiring decisions.

The consultations can be found below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-deal-for-renting-resetting-the-balance-of-rights-and-responsibilities-between-landlords-and-tenants

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/rogue-landlord-database-reform