Angela Rayner named the new Housing Secretary

Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has been named the new Housing Secretary – retuning to the role after almost 12 months.

Matthew Pennycook, who recently penned an open letter to NRLA members in the pages of our members’ magazine Property, remains as housing minister. As Rayner, who has been a vocal opponent of rent controls, returns to the front benches the NRLA has warned ongoing reforms of the private rented sector must work for landlords and tenants.

Practical and fair

Our chief executive Ben Beadle said: “We welcome Angela Rayner back as Housing Secretary. Boosting housing supply will be one of the Government’s most pressing issues, and we stand ready to work constructively with ministers on this agenda.

“With the private rented sector facing significant further changes, it is vital that reforms are practical and fair for both tenants and responsible landlords.

“We urge the Housing Secretary to focus on improving enforcement to root out the minority of rogue and criminal landlords undermining the reputation of the responsible majority. In parallel, ministers must also repair the broken justice system to ensure the Renters’ Rights Act can be implemented effectively.

“Underpinning all of this is a need to rule out any form of rent control. As Angela Rayner herself and the cross-party Housing Select Committee have all warned, rent controls would undermine the supply of the homes to rent so many tenants urgently need."

International evidence

As Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner noted that: “Rent controls restrict housing supply, which does not help anyone”, with Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, telling the House of Commons in April that: “There is sufficient international evidence from countries such as Sweden and Germany, and from individual cities such as San Francisco, as well as the recent Scottish experience, to attest to the potential detrimental impacts of rent controls on tenants.”

In its recent report on conditions in the private rented sector the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee concluded that it was “not currently convinced that stricter measures to stabilise rents would be a proportionate step” due to the “potential consequences this could have on the supply of affordable properties.”

Photo credit: @houseofcommons