The Government has just published a white paper, called the Renters Reform Bill, which sets out the steps that they are going to take to improve conditions in the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

This is long-overdue, and I have made it clear that we must do more to crack down on rogue landlords who profit from people’s misery, and a restricted and expensive market, to make huge profits. It cannot be right that in a country with the wealth of the United Kingdom hundreds of thousands of people across the country are living in sub-standard accommodation.

At a glance, the Government’s White Paper marks a step in the right direction. I greatly welcome the removal of no-fault evictions, which allow landlords to evict their tenants without reason. This will help the Council’s agenda of homeless prevention, as people can fall into homelessness following a no-fault eviction.

I also welcome the Government’s steps to increase regulation in the PRS.. The trailblazing work that we have done in Birmingham on Supported Exempt Accommodation shows that this approach can help to weed out the worst providers and landlords, raise standards across the board, and safeguard our communities. Birmingham City Council is also pursuing the largest Selective Licensing Scheme currently in the UK, we hope this submission to Government will receive approval. If successful, this scheme has the potential to drive up standards in the PRS and is focussed on the 25 wards where there are high levels of PRS, and deprivation and/or crime.

The Chief Executive of the housing charity Shelter, Polly Neate, has called the Renters Reform Bill a “game changer for England’s 11 million private renters.” I agree with her and hope that as a result of the provisions of this Bill, finally, tenants will be able to stand up to bad behaviour from landlords rather than living in fear.

However, the changes to the law will not apply to existing tenancies, only to new ones, meaning that for years to come there will still be families who are struggling in poor-quality accommodation run by rogue landlords.

Neither we nor the Government can afford to be complacent, and many of the structural issues that plague the rental market will still be untouched. The cost of living crisis and rising property prices mean that people are struggling to access affordable accommodation that is suitable for their family size, and the number of evictions due to rent-arrears may well rise

Likewise, the new standards must have teeth, and Local Authorities must be given the resources that they need to enforce them. This funding must be secured in the form of a multi-year settlement to allow councils to develop teams who will combat rogue landlords using these new laws, otherwise too many of them will still be able to operate with impunity.

The Renters Reform Bill is an important step forward in addressing the imbalance that exists in the Private Rental Sector, but whether or not this moment will be seen as the start of a new era in housing remains to be seen.

This blog was posted on 20 June 2022.