7:58 AM, 11th May 2022, About 3 years ago 38
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Michael Gove, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, have followed up on the Queen’s speech with exactly what their intentions are for the Renters Reform Bill.
Apparently, 21% of private renters live in homes of an unacceptable standard and 22% did not end their tenancy by choice (ignoring the fact this could be for rent arrears or anti-social behaviour etc.).
The official government press release is below:
The government will deliver the biggest change to renters law in a generation, improving the lives of millions of renters by driving up standards in the private and socially rented sector, delivering on the government’s mission to level up the country.
A “new deal” will be put in place for the 4.4 million households privately renting across England by extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. These reforms will build on the progress the government has already made in this area, and ensure all renters have access to secure, quality homes, levelling up opportunities for the 21% of private rented who currently live in homes of an unacceptable standard.
New measures will also protect tenants, delivering on a manifesto commitment. So-called ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions – that allow rogue landlords to terminate tenancies without giving any reason – will be outlawed, so renters can remain in their homes and communities, and continue supporting the local economy. 22% of those who moved in the past year did not end their tenancy by choice.
Together these reforms will help to ease the cost of living pressures renters are facing, saving families moving from one privately rented home to another an estimated £1,400 in moving costs.
The Bill will also strengthen landlords’ grounds for repossession making it easier for them to evict tenants who are wilfully not paying rent, or who are repeatedly engaging in anti-social behaviour, bringing down neighbourhoods.
Tenants in social housing will also benefit from major reforms to the sector. The Social Housing Regulation Bill will make all registered social housing providers subject to a tough new regulatory regime, with failing social landlords facing unlimited fines if they fail to meet the standards expected of them.
Levelling Up and Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: “Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe and cold homes, powerless to put it right, and under the threat of sudden eviction.
“The New Deal for renters announced today will help to end this injustice, improving conditions and rights for millions of renters.
“This is all part of our plan to level up communities and improve the life chances of people from all corners of the country.”
New deal for private renters
There are 4.4 million households in the private rented sector and the Decent Homes Standard will place a legal obligation on the small number of landlords renting out homes that are of such low quality they are endangering the health of their tenants to quickly improve them.
Today’s reforms will prevent private landlords from benefiting from taxpayer money for renting out low-quality homes, slashing the £3 billion a year in housing benefit that is estimated to go to landlords renting out non-decent homes. It will also save the NHS anywhere up to the £340 million a year it is spending on the ill health that low quality privately rented homes create.
Currently, areas in the North have the highest proportion of non-decent private rented homes. The measures announced in the Queen’s Speech will ensure every private renter in the country can enjoy a good standard of living, spreading access and opportunity across the country.
The Renters Reform Bill will also end the injustice that sees renters unable to put down roots in their communities as a result of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
A new Private Renters’ Ombudsman will be created to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, at low cost, and without going to court. The ombudsman will cover all private landlords letting properties and make sure that when residents make a complaint, landlords take action to put things right.
The Bill will also introduce a new property portal to help landlords understand their obligations, give tenants performance information to hold their landlords to account, and help councils crack down on poor practice.
The government will shortly publish a White Paper setting out more detail on our proposals for landmark reform in the private rented sector and will continue to work with the sector to develop the Renters Reform Bill.
The Social Housing Regulation Bill will continue to deliver on the government’s reforms in response to the Grenfell Tower fire as we reach the 5th anniversary of the tragedy. It follows on from the Building Safety Act and last year’s Fire Safety Act. The Social Housing Regulation Bill will create a robust regulatory framework that will drive up the standards of social housing accommodation and help tenants and the Regulator hold social housing landlords to account.
It will:
The government also today introduced the landmark Levelling Up and Regeneration bill, which will spread opportunity and prosperity and transform towns and communities across the United Kingdom. This includes a significant package of measures to revive high streets, regenerate town centres and deliver the high-quality homes that communities need. It will put the legal foundations in place to deliver the government’s wide-reaching proposals to spread opportunity, drive productivity and boost local pride.
Further information
Old Mrs Landlord
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Sign Up21:51 PM, 12th May 2022, About 3 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Whiteskifreak Surrey at 12/05/2022 - 18:00
I think you are right that the stumblingblock will be the burden of proof that non-payment is in fact wilful. It's a nice little earner for rival groups of solicitors I fear and, of course, the tenant will be entitled to legal aid. Shelter's legal team must be jumping for joy.
CMS
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Sign Up3:04 AM, 16th May 2022, About 3 years ago
So the Govt stats claim that 22% of tenants did not end their tenancy voluntarily. What is the % of them them that had their tenancy ended by a process that will still be available under the section 8 process? What % of them were ended because the tenant wanted to move back into the house or for any of the proposed reasons that will still be available after the abolition of section 21? and how many of these were, not because the tenant did not want to leave, but because the tenant asked for the section 21 process to be undertaken as they need to be evicted in order to get on the council housing list!
Plus how many landlord's actually serve a section 21 other than for any of the reasons that will still be viable? If a landlord has a good tenant whether they are paying slightly under market rent usually doesn't dictate whether a section 21 application is made! The purpose/result ratio on this is going to be embarrassing and i would go as far to say that this section 21 abolition is going to be a good thing for landlords!
Jack Rainbow
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Sign Up6:49 AM, 16th May 2022, About 3 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Ashleigh at 11/05/2022 - 08:27
Don't expect common sense from Michael Gove.
CMS
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Sign Up5:51 AM, 27th May 2022, About 3 years ago
I have been saying since the first time this idea was raised (2 years ago was it?) that the impact of this will have to be watered down so much that its impact on the majority of landlords will be nominal (in fact i wrote an article recently where i said i believe, and i do, that this will actually end up being a good thing for landlords but anyway).
How many landlords in practice actually serve a section 21 notice for any reason other than they want to sell or they want to move back in? I would guess very very few and there is no way that the Govt wont make some concessions for these possibilities - it is just not going to happen.
If they did, and again i say they wont, the would effectively be asking landlords to be come interest only mortgage companies and that's just not going to happen. Also, if they did this, it would probably stop the rental market in its tracks as there would be no prospective landlords coming into the market and existing landlords would be looking to get out. Fewer houses being rented will just push people into buying houses which, with inflation and interest rates on the rise, is not happening so no one buys and no one rents until the house prices have to drop to a point where mortgage companies LTV makes it viable to borrow but thats only going to be shortlived as once the demand (together with the viability to borrow the required amount) is back the house prices will become unattainable and so you are back to square one.
I honestly think that this needs to be viewed as exactly what it is and that's simply a headline to attract voters. Conservative voters are traditionally home owners/landlords but as they havent been able to resolve the housing problem (so cant increase home owners and therefore the pool of their usual voters) they are trying to appeal to the renters wo traditionally vote labour. That is what i see this all being about and i honestly cannot see how they can make this have enough teeth for it to bite landlords in a serious way...but we will see i suppose.
Gromit
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Sign Up7:32 AM, 27th May 2022, About 3 years ago
Reply to the comment left by charles stevens at 27/05/2022 - 05:51I love your optimism, but I don't share your faith in the Government having any commonsense or knowledge of the PRS (& how ut works). In evidence I give you the track record of supposedly Conservative Government for the last 7 years.
This woke Government just panders to rants/ideology from the likes of Shelter, Generation Rent, Acorn, et al who shout the loudest & claim to represent millions of tenants, in the vain hope it'll make them more popular and garner more votes at the next General Election. They'll continue to ignore PRS experts until they realise the damage their policies have done, they'll then consult for a year, draft legislation for another year, and then enact new Law which will take several years to take any effect. During which tenants will suffer high rents, lack of availability and homelessness.
CMS
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Sign Up8:21 AM, 27th May 2022, About 3 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Gromit at 27/05/2022 - 07:32
completely agree with you that they dont know what they are doing! Also think that this s21 abolition that everyone seems to think is a god send for tenants will in fact increase rents and do little else...but it doesn't matter so long as we are not talking about whether Boris lied or not haha...
CMS
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Sign Up9:27 AM, 27th May 2022, About 3 years ago
completely agree with you that they dont know what they are doing! Also think that this s21 abolition that everyone seems to think is a god send for tenants will in fact increase rents and do little else...but it doesn't matter so long as we are not talking about whether Boris lied or not haha...
Chris Byways
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Sign Up16:03 PM, 13th June 2022, About 3 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Chris Byways at 11/05/2022 - 12:09Date: 13 June 2022
Dear Chris Byways,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 - 17655415
Thank you for your request for information, which we received on 12 May 2022 and processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
You requested:
Michael Gove said (following Queen's speech) 21% of private renters live in homes of an unacceptable standard and 22% did not end their tenancy by choice.
1) what is the precise definition of 'unacceptable standard' used?
2) what is the evidence for this statement?
3) what is this percentage in the PRS (Private Landlords), and the percentage in Local Authorities and Housing Charities provided accommodation?
4) of the '22% not ending by choice', does this INCLUDE those ended through non payment of rent, and by anti-social behaviour?
5) has the department evaluated the diminution of the future 'rental housing stock' due to mortgage providers or insurers etc. requirement to be able to re-possess, or the desire to exit the sector, or the reluctance to rent out by 'accidental' Landlords? If so, what is the data.
6) What government funding has been provided to Shelter in the last year?
7) How many families have Shelter provided homes for as a result of these funds? 8) Are 100% of these homes (if any) of an acceptable standard?
REPLY
We can confirm that the information requested is held by the Department
1) what is the precise definition of 'unacceptable standard' used?
In 2020 21% of privately rented homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. For a property to be considered ‘decent’ under the Decent Homes Standard it must:
• meet the statutory minimum standard for housing, which requires it to be free from ‘category 1 hazards’, as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS),
• be in a reasonable state of repair,
• have reasonably modern facilities and services,
• provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
2) what is the evidence for this statement?
The proportion of the housing stock that does not meet the Decent Homes Standard, broken down by tenure, can be found in the 2020 English Housing Survey: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2020-to-2021- headline-report.
3) what is this percentage in the PRS (Private Landlords), and the percentage in Local Authorities and Housing Charities provided accommodation?
In 2020, 16% or 4.0 million homes failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard. 21% of privately rented homes were non-decent, 13% of social rented homes and 16% of owner occupied homes.
4) of the '22% not ending by choice', does this INCLUDE those ended through non payment of rent, and by anti-social behaviour?
The English Housing Survey asks all of those who moved from or within the PRS in the past year the reason their last tenancy ended. In the 2019-20 survey, 78% said that they moved by choice –22% didn’t choose this response. The 22% will include those whose last tenancy ended because they were asked to leave by their landlord or agent (8%).
5) has the department evaluated the diminution of the future 'rental housing stock' due to mortgage providers or insurers etc. requirement to be able to re- possess, or the desire to exit the sector, or the reluctance to rent out by 'accidental' Landlords? If so, what is the data.
The English Private Landlord Survey asks landlords questions about future plans for their portfolios. Landlords were asked what, if any, investment plans they had for their rental properties over the coming two years. Almost half of landlords (48%) said they plan to keep the number of their rental properties the same. A further 20% of landlords said they had not made any plans for their rental properties. A similar number of landlords planned to increase their number of properties (11%), as planned to decrease their number of properties (12%) or were planning to sell all of their rental properties (10%).
The data for this can be found in the publication, at Annex Tables 5.2 and 5.3:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-private-landlord-survey-2021-main- report
6) What government funding has been provided to Shelter in the last year?
In 21/22 the Department provided Shelter with grant funding (Section 180) of £2,459,039 to run the National Homelessness Advice
7) How many families have Shelter provided homes for as a result of these funds?
None – this funding was for Shelter to provide the National Homelessness Advice Service.
8) Are 100% of these homes (if any) of an acceptable standard?
N/A.
ends