Levelling Up White Paper – S21 abolished – Landlord register – Decent homes standard

Levelling Up White Paper – S21 abolished – Landlord register – Decent homes standard

7:59 AM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago 78

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Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will further be abolished, ending the unfair situation where renters can be kicked out of their homes for no reason.

We will consult on introducing a landlords register, and will set out plans for a crackdown on rogue landlords – making sure fines and bans stop repeat offenders leaving renters in terrible conditions.

The government will announce a plan that for the first time ever, all homes in the Private Rented Sector will have to meet a minimum standard – the Decent Homes Standard.

The above are the key plans that affect landlords directly in the government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper being promoted today by Secretary of State Michael Gove. Click here to read the full press release.

The government aim is that by 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas.

Other plans for the housing market include:

The government will support 20 of our towns and city centres, starting off with Wolverhampton and Sheffield, undertaking ambitious, King’s Cross-style regeneration projects, transforming derelict urban sites into beautiful communities. This work will be spearheaded by Homes England, which will be repurposed to, in addition to its existing functions, regenerate towns and cities.

The ‘80/20 rule’ which leads to 80% of government funding for housing supply being directed at ‘maximum affordability areas’ – in practice, London and the South East – will be scrapped, with much of the £1.8 billion brownfield funding instead being diverted to transforming brownfield sites in the North and Midlands. The Metro Mayors will be allocated £120 million of this funding.

Home ownership will be boosted due to a new £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund being launched, which will provide loans to SMEs and support the UK government’s wider regeneration agenda in areas that are a priority for levelling up.

The government will further commit to building more genuinely affordable social housing. A new Social Housing Regulation Bill will deliver upon the commitments the government made following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017.

The government will give local authorities the power to require landlords of empty shops to fill them if they have been left vacant for too long.

Michael Gove said: “The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies. Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.

“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.

“Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.

“This will not be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go.”

Party Minister Boris Johnson said: “From day one, the defining mission of this government has been to level up this country, to break the link between geography and destiny so that no matter where you live you have access to the same opportunities.

“The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight, but this White Paper is the next crucial step.

“It is a vision for the future that will see public spending on R&D increased in every part of the country; transport connectivity improving; faster broadband in every community; life expectancies rising; violent crime falling; schools improving; and private sector investment being unleashed.

“It is the most comprehensive, ambitious plan of its kind that this country has ever seen and it will ensure that the government continues to rise to the challenge and deliver for the people of the UK.”


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15:08 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Sam Smith at 02/02/2022 - 09:04
Totally agree. There is no balance here.
They are not trying to solve a rental market problem, but a political problem.

Accidental LL

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15:45 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

I am 3 months into my first ever letting of a property. This is a 12 month SHT agreement.
I am appalled at the envisaged ban on S21 evictions. Surely this ban cannot be applied to EXISTING contracts?
Gove refers to tenant's homes, which term totally disregards that they do NOT OWN the property.
Recently 118 discussed an alternative name for landlords, how about a true description- a Homeowner (who provides housing).

Ann Shaw

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15:49 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by neilt at 02/02/2022 - 14:54
Hi Neil, Yes, I know all the statute’s - We will have to wait and see whether I abstain from voting at the next election. However, one thing where there is absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever in my mind (tablets of stone) until my dying last breath, I will NEVER vote Labour!!

Ann Shaw

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15:50 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by neilt at 02/02/2022 - 14:54
Hi Neil, Yes, I know all the statute’s - We will have to wait and see whether I abstain from voting at the next election. However, one thing where there is absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever in my mind (tablets of stone) until my dying last breath, I will NEVER vote Labour!!

Richie

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17:22 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ann Shaw at 02/02/2022 - 12:17
Not sure its just the Tories the Labour and Libs have often spoken about the same things and I think the Labour ideas are even worse.
The result for me as with many others on here will be to sell over the next few years. Maybe wait until vacant or put the children in there for a while. You could move in for a year (pay the Council tax etc) and then sell, would that be cheaper than CGT?

Ann Shaw

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18:15 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Richie at 02/02/2022 - 17:22Very true Richie, As I mentioned earlier, I would NEVER vote Labour or Lib Dems for that matter, as Iong as I have breath.
That said, at this moment in time, I cannot even think about voting Tory again if they push this legislation through. Like you, I will be selling my properties and paying 28% CGT.
The Government has monumentally thrown us under a bus here. I liken it to an analogy of hire cars for eg. Someone hires a car through, let us say Hertz, and the person hiring it fails to return it within the given contractual period and fails to pay for any further hire costs. Hertz would naturally repossess the car back. But wait, the law has changed and Hertz now has zero powers to repossess their property (vehicle) and take back what is rightfully theirs. A wild spin on it you might say, but essentially the same.
As soon as we hear timescales regarding the eradication of s21, my tenants will be given their notice, while I still can. I have already sold four properties due to s24, the rest will be sold within the next year.

M&SFAN

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18:26 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Listening to Gove today on the Today Programme I thought that "Levelling up" seems to mean not spending any new money, not fixing any problems but shoving problems on someone else to carry. In this case, small landlords will be helping him to claim that this government is looking after tenants. Great headline for Gove, and they can all forget about housing for a while.

Richie

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18:32 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ann Shaw at 02/02/2022 - 18:15
Your absolutely correct and at this time I'm on the same course. But should we wait to see if this actually becomes int law?
To clarify my comment re moving in to a property, only one of us would "move in", register for council tax (25% reduction for singles (so on two homes)) put all bills in one name then. Then sell after a year so would that save CGT?
The "one" person could also rent a room or is it two on the rent a room scheme or even AB&B.
No rule on where the one should visit or for how long!

M&SFAN

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18:54 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by TheBiggerPicture at 02/02/2022 - 15:08I would go further and say the ONLY way to fight it is to accept that it is 100% a political issue. The govt can force a tiny group (small landlords) to pay the price, then the govt can brag how much they are looking after tenants! And of course not lift a finger or spend a cent to actually fix housing insecurity. So it's a no brainer, of course they'll do it. Housing is a total mess but perhaps a start would be if anyone knows of an MP of any party who has shown signs of a good attitude towards small providers of rented housing? Or, even one who supports genuinely tackling the problem of bad housing? It would help us enormously if we had someone on our side in Westminster.

Ann Shaw

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20:11 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Richie at 02/02/2022 - 18:32
Hi Richie, I'm not an Accountant, I'm afraid. I would seek good advice with regards CGT and what you can offset.

If HMRC suspects wrongdoing, they can go back 20 years, and as well as clawing any monies back, they can also charge 100% fees - ie any money you owe, add another 100% on top.

Please be very careful here, as I would expect you would only be able to do this once, but check with a good Accountant first 🙂

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