9:59 AM, 1st November 2023, About A year ago 11
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The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has appealed to the Renters’ Reform Coalition, a group of organisations that push for tenants’ rights, to work together on improving the private rented sector (PRS).
The NRLA has sent an open letter to the coalition’s leading members, including Crisis, Citizens Advice, Generation Rent, Shelter and others.
The letter was sent following last week’s debate in Parliament on the Renters (Reform) Bill, which aims to end section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.
The NRLA’s chief executive, Ben Beadle, said that the landlords’ association agrees with many of the coalition’s goals, such as ensuring tenants have access to quality housing, legal support and fair benefits.
However, he also warned that reform of the rental market needs to carry the confidence of responsible landlords, who provide much-needed homes for millions of people.
Mr Beadle said that debate about the future of the private rented sector has become increasingly polarised and divisive between landlords and tenants.
He said that this is not helpful and that both parties mutually depend on each other.
Mr Beadle wrote: “We do not think this has to be the case and are concerned at some of the language which gives the impression that someone can be pro-landlord or pro-tenant, but not both. This is simply not true.”
He urged the coalition’s members to respond to his letter and to engage in constructive dialogue with the NRLA on areas of agreement.
He also states that this would benefit both landlords and tenants and help shape a better rental market for everyone.
30th October 2023
An open letter to:
Dear all,
I write to you as your organisations are leading members of the Renters Reform Coalition.
As you will know, the NRLA has never shied away from accepting the challenges that tenants face in the private rented market.
We agree that tenants need to feel confident to raise complaints about poor quality housing; that councils need the resources to take enforcement action against rogue and criminal landlords; and that tenants should have access to proper legal support where possession cases end up in the courts. Likewise, we support calls for the unjust freeze on LHA rates to be reversed.
However, alongside this, reform of the rental market needs to carry the confidence of responsible landlords. After all, greater security for tenants will not mean much if the homes to rent are not there in the first place. Rightmove, Zoopla and others all point to the demand for private rented housing already outstripping available supply.
Over recent years, debate about the future of the private rented sector has become increasingly polarised as a battle between the needs of tenants on the one hand and those of landlords on the other. We do not think this has to be the case and are concerned at some of the language which gives the impression that someone can be pro-landlord or pro-tenant, but not both. This is simply not true.
Landlords and tenants mutually depend on one another and reform of the sector must work for both parties.
In view of this, I would welcome your response to the following points.
As you know, in response to the LUHC Committee report on the private rented sector, the Government made clear that it “will not proceed with the abolition of section 21, until reforms to the justice system are in place.” We understand how frustrating this is. We are equally frustrated that it has taken so long for a commitment to undertake these reforms to be made, when their necessity has been clear for several years. Practical steps could and should have already been taken in preparation for the Bill.
We have long argued that the need for an improved court system to handle section 8 repossessions was an essential pre-requisite for the replacement of section 21 to work. In 2020, we highlighted the need for the courts to reduce the time to process legitimate possession cases in our proposals for the new system to replace section 21.
Likewise, as far back as 2018 the then HCLG Select Committee called for the development of a specialist housing court, whilst in its report on the private rented sector in February, the current LUHC Committee warned that: “It is not clear whether the Government fully appreciates the extent to which an unreformed courts system could undermine its tenancy reforms.”
We want court reforms that would benefit tenants and landlords. Tenants need to be able to access legal advice and support much more easily where possession cases are being considered by the courts. Likewise, where landlords have a legitimate reason to repossess a property, whether that be for serious rent arrears or anti-social behaviour, it means ensuring the courts process such cases much more swiftly than at present, as called for by the LUHC Committee.
We believe that there is potential to build common ground on the issue of court reform and would be grateful for your thoughts on the following:
In a thread on X, Tom Darling from the Renters Reform Coalition implied that all grounds for repossession should be discretionary.
This is not a stance the NRLA agrees with, but we would appreciate the opportunity to understand your respective organisations’ positions on:
As an organisation we understand the importance of pets in providing companionship for many renters. We support the measures in the Bill that would ensure both that landlords could not unreasonably withhold consent for tenants wanting to keep a pet and require tenants with pets to have the necessary insurance.
We note again however that Tom Darling, speaking on behalf of the Renters Reform Coalition, has said that if tenants want “a pack of Great Danes”, living in their properties, “that should be their right.”
Given this comment, we would welcome your proposals as to when a property might be unsuitable for a certain type or number of pets. For example, would a large dog in a small flat without a garden be suitable? Likewise:
As you know, the Government has said it wants to bring forward measures to ban ‘No DSS’ adverts, which we support. Every tenant should be treated on an individual basis based on their ability to sustain a tenancy.
However, I am sure you will agree that a ban of this kind is unlikely to achieve much without also unfreezing the Local Housing Allowance.
In view of this, would you be prepared to work with the NRLA in making a joint call on the Government and the Labour Party to commit to reversing the unjust freeze on LHA rates with a commitment, at the very least, to re-link it to the 30th percentile of rents and uplift it accordingly each year?
Whilst we accept that there are issues on which we will not agree, we believe it important that as groups representing tenants and landlords, we are able to find common ground where we can work together for the benefit of the sector as a whole. In short, it is time to end the divisive rhetoric which is giving the wholly inaccurate impression that the majority of landlords cannot be trusted, but rather recognise that both parties need to work together to have a successful tenancy.
Given the importance of the issues raised in this letter, I will be making it publicly available on the NRLA website and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Beadle
Chief Executive
Rod
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Sign Up18:02 PM, 1st November 2023, About A year ago
iHowz welcome the letter from the NRLA to the named tenant groups and note that it follows the conciliatory approach adopted by our proposal to make S21 fairer
https://ihowz.uk/the-unintended-consequences-of-losing-the-section-21-notice/
The issues covered are key to both tenants and landlords:
1. Court Reform - in our response to the White Paper, we proposed the introduction of SLAs (service level agreements)
2. Grounds for Possession - the court decisions are already seen as arbitrary by some landlords with inconsistent judgements and cases delayed or thrown out due to technicalities
3. Pets - already covered by existing consumer law, we would expect such definitions to be part of the committee and review process but disagree with the proposal for insurance. Allowing an additional week's deposit would be simpler.
4. No DSS Adverts - this is discriminatory and is also already covered by existing consumer law, and why it is no longer in the bill. We raised the need for LHAs to be updated in our White Paper, Spring Budget and Autumn Statement submissions
https://ihowz.uk/the-white-paper-on-the-privated-rented-sector/
iHowz and other landlord groups from across the country, including the NRLA, meet on a regular basis and welcome this week's announcement that councils will be told to stop charging council tax on individual HMO rooms.
We note that, rather than publishing the revised Decent Homes Standard and ensuring that provisions were available to make it fit for use in the PRS, the latest summary of the Renters Reform Bill states that this is no longer in the bill.
The other measure which has been dropped from the bill is "Strengthening councils’ enforcement powers and introducing a requirement on them to report on enforcement activity."
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8756/?utm_source=HOC+Library+-+Research+alerts&utm_campaign=ca357dad80-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_10_22_08_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a9da1c9b17-ca357dad80-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=ca357dad80
Landlords have regularly raised concerns that it is the lack of targeted enforcement, not the lack of legislation that prevents the bad actors and criminal minority of landlords from being driven out of the sector.
The Property Portal is expected to require landlords to provide substantial detail about their properties and themselves. It is regrettable that the government no longer feel that similar requirements should apply in respect of councils' reporting on their enforcement activity, as licencing and PCN fines become increasingly common. It is often said that "sunlight is the best form of disinfection". Requiring councils to report on licencing schemes, and other measures to enforce standards in the private rental sector, would allow landlords and tenants to judge for themselves whether councils are delivering the promised improvements that we are paying for.
It is unlikely that the tenant groups will provide NRLA direct responses to many of the quests raised, but the landlord community would appreciate those responses they do receive to be reported to us at the earliest opportunity, given their relevance to the RRB.
At iHowz we always welcome the opportunity to help improve the PRS