At Tower Hamlets a good example of cross service working and the use of App is when Trading Standards Officers get complaints regarding unscrupulous property agents, who state they belong to one of the redress schemes or using logos of other agents giving a false impression of accreditation which need investigating
We have three licensing scheme for landlords of private rented accommodation. Applications are received through the Civica web portal. It is our Health and Housing Team that administers and issues the licences. The name and address database populated from the portal contains a whole host of people connected with one application, ie landlord, freeholder, managing agent. This information is an invaluable source of data for Trading Standards and can be used in any prosecution, particularly when trying to identify the legal entity who should be the licence holder.
One case of a Trading Standards investigation highlighted that one property has the trading entity as the licence holder and not the legal entity, so the Health and Housing Team have been notified and the licence will have to be re-issued.
Ann Horwood
Leadership Team
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