The government must ensure it does not alienate landlords in its effort to strengthen renters’ protection with the proposed Renters’ Right Bill.
This was announced in the King’s Speech today, with a promise to get rid of Section 21 no-fault evictions as part of rental reforms.
Isobel Thomson, chief executive of Safeagent, welcomed the government’s commitment to boost the power of local councils but said enforcement activity needed to be “properly resourced if these measures are to achieve the desired outcome”.
She added: “We would urge government, while seeking to ‘level the playing field between landlords and tenants’, not to alienate landlords, and to recognise the vital role of landlords and agents in underpinning a safe and secure private rental sector [PRS] for the majority of tenants.
“We look forward to more detail on the contents of the bill and will be happy to work with government.”
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “The reforms to the rental market are long expected and we will ensure that rent controls are avoided, new grounds are effective, and the court system is fit for purpose to coincide with any removal of Section 21.”
Rental reform should be fair for all
Chris Norris, policy director for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said any reform needed to be workable for both landlords and renters.
He added: “With an average of 15 households chasing every available home to rent, it is vital that rental reform does not make an already serious supply crisis in the private rented sector worse.
“The system that replaces Section 21 needs to be fair, workable and sustainable for both responsible landlords and renters. That means fixing a broken justice system [that] too often fails those reliant upon it.”
Norris added: “The Housing Minister has rightly noted that landlords need the courts to operate quickly where they have a good reason to repossess a property. This includes cases of tenant anti-social behaviour and serious rent arrears, which currently take almost seven months to process. This is far too long.
“Tenants are no better served by delays, which increase hardship, stress, and uncertainty. We need action from the government, alongside the bill, to ensure all are able to access justice in a timely fashion when they need to do so.
“We will work constructively with the government as it continues to work on the detail of its plans.”
Leasehold legislation a ‘mixed blessing’
A draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill was also announced during the King’s Speech, confirming Labour’s proposals to make commonhold the default housing tenure and protect leaseholders from excessive building costs.
Linz Darlington, managing director of Homehold, said: “While this is good news for leaseholders generally, for those wanting to extend their leases or purchase their freeholds, yet more legislation is a mixed blessing. What these people need is the Labour government to concentrate on implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, passed in the last Parliament.
“While far from perfect, this act could make it cheaper for some leaseholders to extend their leases. However, it currently offers absolutely no benefit to anyone – because it isn’t yet in force.”
He said the existing legislation needed work, “including setting the rates used to calculate whether lease extension prices will go up or down”.
Darlington added: “Many leaseholders have their lives on hold because they have properties [that] they cannot sell or mortgage due to short leases. What these people need is the Labour government to concentrate on implementing the 2024 legislation, before they get started on the next thing.”
He warned that the new draft bill could “easily become a distraction from getting the existing law implemented”.
Darlington said: “It is likely to rip up lots of the old legislation and start again. The government might see investing in the work required to put this into force [as] the equivalent to installing a new kitchen in a house that they fully intend to knock down in a few short years.
“The word ‘draft’ in the title of the new bill is telling – this is not included in the title of most of the proposed pieces of legislation. This suggests that this new legislation won’t pass in this parliamentary session – so leaseholders could be left waiting for years to see the benefit of it.
“The Labour government, in the briefing note for the King’s Speech, promise to ‘act quickly’, and leaseholders certainly need them to implement the existing legislation without delay.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
