Many thousands of tenants are using landlords who claim to be professionals yet who lack even the most basic understanding of how to manage their lettings business.

Unscrupulous landlords are passing themselves off as members of professional landlords’ associations that adhere to a code of practice.

The National Landlords Association (NLA), the UK’s leading representative body for private-residential landlords, has just launched an online database of its members at www.mynlalandlord.org.uk – designed to allow tenants to check whether their current or prospective landlord is claiming to be a member of the NLA and, therefore, abides by the highest standards of property letting.

A tenant renting from an NLA landlord can have peace of mind that if something goes wrong; the NLA Code of Practice is there to outline a framework whereby legitimate complaints are dealt with in a timely and professional manner.

"Not only does the database provide tenants with a level of security that a landlord is bound by certain standards of practice, but it also offers our landlord members the chance to demonstrate to current or potential tenants that they are part of the cream of the crop in the lettings business," said David Salusbury, NLA chairman.