NRLA chief calls on the next government to instigate a new Renters (Reform) Bill

NRLA chief calls on the next government to instigate a new Renters (Reform) Bill

9:24 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago 23

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After seeing five years of hard work in shaping the Renters (Reform) Bill for the private rented sector (PRS) evaporate when the general election was called, the next government must work ‘from scratch’ on a new law.

That’s the verdict of Ben Beadle, the chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) writing to members on the organisation’s website.

He says the Bill was the government’s masterplan to transform the PRS with more security for tenants, the abolition of section 21 and the end of fixed term tenancies.

The controversial Bill was first mooted in 2019 with the NRLA working with its members and Government to amend and hone the plans so they were fair to landlords.

The discussions also enabled Ministers to honour their commitments to tenants.

‘We believed was fair and workable’

Mr Beadle said: “While there’s no suggestion that what was on the table was the ‘perfect’ Bill as far as landlords, and arguably tenants were concerned, what we had was something that we believed was fair and workable.

“It came as a huge blow, therefore, that Rishi Sunak’s decision to call an election when he did, rendered it dead in the water.

“It is even more frustrating when we understand that the Labour party would have supported the Renters (Reform) Bill had it been selected for ‘wash-up’ – the process in which outstanding parliamentary business is completed ahead of Parliament being prorogued.”

Essentially, it is the ‘wash-up’ period that means that any parliamentary business not completed cannot become law and cannot be carried over to the next Parliament.

Next Government will need to start from scratch

Mr Beadle says the next Government will need to start from scratch and develop new legislation for the PRS.

He adds: “This, in turn, means even greater uncertainty for landlords who have already been waiting for five years for answers on how they must run their businesses going forward.

“The repercussions could be far-reaching – for landlords and tenants.”

Along with a cost-of-living and housing crisis, surveys show that growing numbers of landlords are considering what their future is in the PRS.

The issue is, he says, that the ‘crippling uncertainty’ means many landlords will decide to sell up.

Bad news for renters

Mr Beadle continues: “This in turn is bad news for renters looking to the sector for a home, with most recent figures from property platform Rightmove showing there are now 15 tenants competing for each property.

“Both the Conservatives and Labour have previously committed to abolishing Section 21, one of the cornerstones of the Renters (Reform) Bill, but it will be down to the new administration as to how they progress this – and what priority it is given.

“We may have more clarity on what approach the different parties may take once election manifestos are published in the coming weeks.”

He added: “Whatever happens we are committed to working constructively with them to ensure proposed changes are fair and workable for landlords and tenants alike.”


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Comments

Monty Bodkin

9:21 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

“You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go.”

Cider Drinker

9:30 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

I am past caring what Beadle thinks.

The NRLA haven’t been ‘working with’ the government, they have been ‘conspiring with’ the government.

Beadle must realise that the NRLA are helping the government in encouraging landlords to sell up. This won’t help his membership grow?

Julian Lloyd

9:43 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 04/06/2024 - 09:21
Who to go? The Beadle fool or the Gov idiots!!

Phil Hayward

9:54 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

Are we sure this is not Jeremy Beadle and that it's not a big wind up for Landlords?
It makes you wonder whether any of the staff at the NRLA are actually Landlords themselves, or even know any Landlords?
Have they experienced what 80% of Landlords have experienced e.g. trashed properties, rent arrears, non-payment of rent, squatting, over-legislation, over-taxation, restricted rights to access, ever increasing changes to the law against landlords, selective licensing schemes, anti-social behaviour etc? If they had, they would not be so quick to accommodate proposed governmental changes that would not just drive existing landlords out of the market and deter new landlords from entering it, but would kill the PRS altogether!

GlanACC

9:56 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

he is in cloud cuckoo land, no government whatever the colour is going to start again from scratch.

Markella Mikkelsen

10:02 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

If Section 21 is abolished outright - landlords will sell up.

If a more pro-tenant RRB is pushed through by the Labour party - landlords will sell up.

If more over-regulation of the PRS is brought in by the Labour party - landlords will sell up.

What is being done to stem the flow?

I understand that the NRLA wanted to push this bill through, because they feared that a much worse bill was on its way if Labour won. Well, it seems that the inevitable will happen.

A perfect lose - lose scenario.

Start asking intelligent questions, like:
how can we encourage more investment/younger investors in the PRS?
And start by reversing some of the harmful legislation, S24, stamp duty discrimination, Selective Licensing without any evidence-based facts that it works.

Reluctant Landlord

10:08 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

The ONLY reason Beadle was gung ho for abolition of S21 was because he thought it had already gone to far with all parties in agreement and its demise, inevitable.

Now EVERYTHING is up in the air and he is actually supposedly acting on LL's behalf and calling for it, plus the RRB to be bought back in asap??

There is a L in NRLA that stands for LANDLORD, not T for Tenant!

"He says the Bill was the government’s masterplan to transform the PRS with more security for tenants, the abolition of section 21 and the end of fixed term tenancies."

So which if of these three points prove beneficial to landlords exactly Beadle?????

I suggest you resign and go work for Shelter.

Judith Wordsworth

10:24 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

The NRLA should remember who pays their wages. Landlords.

They are supposed to be the equivalent of a Landlords Union - in Union language stop shafting the PRS.

If everyone stopped being a member of the NRLA, I’m not a member and would never be, and certainly stopped paying for their expensive and of little content courses BB would move on to his next job.

Join far better Landlord assistance ie Pims.co.uk. Everything you need there including no nonsense advice and importantly no courses that they try and try to sell you. Best £80 landlords could spend, and reclaim as an allowable expense against tax.

Get real NRLA and work FOR not against landlords, the people you are supposed to be looking out for and who pay your wages.

michael caffyn parsons

10:35 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

Landlords have too much regulation as it is Tennants already hold all all the cards. This Ben guy is a joke like taking a kitten to a Tiger fight. Take Reform party stance no more regulation is needed and any extra regulation will cause a landlord exodus and massive rent rises focus on getting section 24 removed calling it a Tennant tax. Use Argentina as an example where all the draconian socialist regulation and rent controls were removed and rents dropped 30% in 10 months the best way to destroy a city is bomb it the second best way is rent controls. Use examples of the failure of the anti landlord rhetoric take Scotland wales utter disaster it’s going to happen here until people see sense and vote reform as both labour and Tory want to kill the PRS

moneymanager

10:41 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

Beadle is a government shill and there was a coup d'etat at the RLA a long time ago, one the same message, the TDS is a scam the Tenancy Deposit Scheme being run by The (assumptive) Dispute Service, so right out of the gate it's imbued with negativism. Also, it might be a non profit but its Board and executive team is huge, a money pit and still they have somehow accumulated a net balance sheet of £8000000?

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