Background
In June 2022, the Government published its ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’ White Paper, which sets out its long-term vision for the private rented sector.
It proposes the biggest changes to the sector in more than 30 years. This includes plans to:
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Abolish Section 21 and introduce new possession grounds for landlords.
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Convert assured and assured shorthold tenancies into periodic tenancies, giving tenants the power to give two months’ notice on their tenancy.
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Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS.
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Create a Private Renters Ombudsman to settle disputes.
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Introduce a new Property Portal.
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Abolish rent review clauses, whilst retaining the ability to increase rents annually.
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Outlaw blanket bans on renting to families with children or tenants in receipt of benefits.
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Incentivise landlords to accept tenants with pets.
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Reform the court system and speed up the repossessions process.
About the Campaign
The NRLA is campaigning to ensure the Government’s plans to reform the private rented sector are fair and workable for both landlords and tenants.
We have identified several areas of concern within the Government’s proposals for rental reform that need to be addressed to ensure landlords have the confidence to remain in the sector.
We are calling on the Government to:
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End the anti-landlord rhetoric and back the majority of landlords providing good quality homes to rent.
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Address issues that will arise in the student housing market as a result of the plans to introduce periodic tenancies.
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Establish firm principles as to how local authorities and the police will deal with anti-social tenants.
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Reform the courts before the removal of Section 21 to tackle lengthy waits for possession.
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Abolish local licensing once the new Property Portal is introduced.
Our Impact
Following extensive campaigning by the NRLA, we have successfully influenced and shaped the Government’s proposals for rental reform.
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We engaged with high level officials at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, providing evidence at Government-led roundtables and select committee sessions.
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The Housing Minister Felicity Buchan MP stated that she shares the NRLA’s view that landlords’ right to repossess must be protected – and backs our stance on anti-social behaviour and the need for exemptions for student landlords when it comes to the abolition of fixed term tenancies.
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Our concerns and proposals about rental reform have been quoted in numerous select committee hearings and Westminster debates, as well as cited in several House of Commons research briefing papers.
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Following engagement with student representative bodies and organisations from across the higher education sector, we secured wide-ranging support on the impact the Government’s proposals for reform will have on landlords operating in the student housing market.
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In 2020, we produced our own White Paper ‘A New Deal for the Private Rented Sector’, which subsequently led the Government to recognise the need for court reform to ensure landlords are able to gain possession of their properties in an efficient and timely manner.
Get Involved
Find out if your local MP supports the Government’s proposals for rental reform by writing to them.
You can write to your MP using our online tool. Once you are logged into your membership account, the tool will automatically find your MP and ensure your letter follows parliamentary protocol.
Either write your own letter or copy and paste text from our template letters into the online tool and personalise it if you wish.
You can download the template letters by clicking the ‘MP Template Letters’ document below.
MP Template Letters
Last updated: 12/12/2023 at 13:56 - 109.10 KB
Rental Reform - MP Engagement Toolkit
Last updated: 15/07/2022 at 11:36 - 99.43 KB
Research
A New Deal for the Private Rented Sector
Last updated: 23/08/2021 at 15:00 - 2.23 MB
Decent Homes and The Private Rented Sector
Last updated: 23/05/2022 at 14:03 - 962.61 KB
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