The government’s regulation of landlords is leaving tenants exposed across the UK, according to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA).

The government recently abandoned plans for regulation of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and cited Selective Licensing powers as security enough to protect tenants. These powers allow local authorities to monitor and regulate landlords in areas of low housing demand or which experience high levels of anti-social behaviour.

However, according to ARLA’s research, only 12 out of some 400 local authorities have used these powers to introduce Selective Licensing to date. And across these local authorities, ARLA’s research shows that only 15 landlords have been prosecuted for failing to comply with the licensing requirements. This is despite schemes which have been operational for several months having already identified landlords that are not fulfilling their responsibilities.

ARLA says it has also discovered inconsistencies around the implementation of Selective Licensing, with local authorities enforcing the legislation on a region-by-region basis.

Ian Potter, operations manager of ARLA, said: “ARLA’s research highlights the low number of prosecutions and the inconsistent means by which Selective Licensing is enforced