DPT
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I finally got around to reading the renters reform white paper today and I have a number of concerns and questions that I have passed to the NRLA policy team with the suggestion that it should form part of their lobbying efforts. I've copied my email below in case other members are interested:
My principal concern is in relation to the proposals in relation to tenant anti-social behaviour. The Government has trumpeted their promise to make it easier for landlords to "act efficiently to tackle antisocial behaviour". In the event, the white paper proposes only the following:
In cases of criminal behaviour or serious antisocial behaviour, we will lower the notice period for the existing mandatory eviction ground and explore whether further guidance would help landlords and tenants to resolve issues at an earlier stage
I believe that this is a wholly inadequate response to the concerns landlords and communities have expressed. It seeks to reduce the notice period from 4 weeks to 2, but the notice period was never really the problem. This is also only for the most serious cases of ASB where the tenant has been prosecuted for a crime. My understanding is that most tenant ASB is persistent and lower level and "exploring further guidance to landlords and tenants" whilst removing the landlords only effective ability to remove the tenant, (section 21) will, I believe increase the blight of ASB across the whole of England.
The extension of the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS raises many questions:
- What does "Kitchens and bathrooms should be ...not too old" mean? Is there a danger of the new Ombudsmen service or the local authority being overwhelmed with vexatious complaints from tenants about 15 year old kitchen cabinets or weak shower pressure
- What standard of noise insulation is "decent"? Does it mean for example that a 2 storey Victorian house converted in the 1980s, like so many in London and other metropolitan areas that are currently rented to hundreds of thousands of tenants are unlikely to meet the standard?
- How will the new standards relate to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System; the Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Act; the section 11 repairing obligation of the 1985 Landlord and Tenant Act; the 1972 Defective Premises Act; the Gas Safety Regulations 1998; the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020 and so on?
The proposal to dispense with any fixed term tenancy and introduce a single system of periodic tenancies effectively gives tenants the right to serve a 2 month notice from day one of the tenancy. - Will this lead to longer more secure tenancies as the Government suggests or will it in fact lead to more shorter tenancies in some sectors of the market, increasing voids and costs for landlords, (and ultimately tenants)
- Will it curtail the ability of landlords to effectively plan
- Will it mean that sharers on a joint tenancy will have no security as they could lose their home with just 2 months notice if one sharer decides to serve notice.
The proposal makes no provision for ordinary student landlords who would lose significant income if one or more students opt to leave mid-term. Students across the Country could find it impossible to secure accommodation outside of the purpose built provision that currently isn't sufficient to meet the demand.
"We will introduce a new mandatory ground for repeated serious arrears. Eviction will be mandatory where a tenant has been in at least two months’ rent arrears three times within the previous three years, regardless of the arrears balance at hearing". This seems too convoluted and arbitrary. Does the Government believe that 2 months arrears is an acceptable working figure for a tenancy to persist for several years. If so, then rents are going to almost certainly increase to mitigate this assumption. Does the Government also believe that it is a practical and sensible option for both the landlord and the courts for the landlord to have to take a tenant to court 3 times before they can get possession for rent arrears?
