A landlord testing the beta Private Rented Sector (PRS) database has encountered issues registering a property with a non-standard letting arrangement. The landlord, Richard, reported being unable to complete the registration for a five-bed townhouse leased to a company because the database required an answer to how many households occupy the property at any one time.
Richard stated that the department developing the database forwarded his query to their legal department. The legal department's response indicated they could not provide advice on specific letting arrangements and advised seeking independent legal advice if unsure about registration requirements.
A further email from the department stated, "We cannot review individual arrangements due to the sheer number of landlords and time required to review all of the legal documentation needed to determine each case." Richard suggested this implies landlords with properties outside the norm may need to pay for external advice.