Renters’ Rights does not go far enough, says new report

A new report into the controversial Renters’ Rights Act says the reforms do not go far enough when it comes to protecting vulnerable tenants – sparking fears more change is on the cards.

In its ‘Housing conditions in the Private Rented Sector’ report the cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee says the Government’s reforms are welcome, but more is needed.

It has come up with a string of recommendations including:

• The introduction of incentives for landlords to speed up compliance with the new Decent Homes Standard ahead of the 2035 deadline.
• The roll out Awaab's Law in the private rented sector this year, to ensure that legal timescales for landlords to resolve hazards are fully in place across the private rented sector by the end of 2028/29.
• A full assessment of the resources and powers currently available to local authorities to regulate and enforce standards in the private rented sector.
• The development of the Private Rented Sector Database to include ‘comprehensive information on the fitness of landlords, the quality of homes’, and enable the reporting of issues.
• A reversal of the freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to ensure it matches at least the 30th percentile of market rents to protect households on lower incomes.
• Moves to make it easier for councils to set up local licensing schemes.

Proactive regulation and enforcement

Launching the report, Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee said that too much onus remains on individuals to take action against their landlords, adding: “More needs to be done to ensure that the new tenants’ rights are enforceable and that landlords play by the rules. Stronger and more proactive regulation and enforcement of standards by local authorities is needed to improve conditions for tenants.

“Poor conditions in the rented sector are ultimately a symptom of the nation’s wider housing crisis, especially the lack of social and affordable housing. The government needs to come forward with the long-term housing strategy and set out a credible plan to address the drivers of poor housing conditions”.

Outstanding fines

The news comes after our own research found that between 2023/24 and 2024/25 just a quarter of almost £30 million in civil penalties that were imposed on private landlords for housing offences were actually collected – just over £7million.

We are arguing this makes a mockery of the system and does little to tackle the criminal landlords giving the sector a bad name, with the Government sharing our concerns over the funding for local authority enforcement.

Rent Controls

Fortunately rent controls remain off the table at present – with the report saying it does not believe they would be a ‘proportionate step’ at this stage.

Our chief executive Ben Beadle said he is pleased the Government has taken our advice when it comes to funding enforcement work, but challenged proposals  to make it easier for councils to introduce licensing schemes.

He said: “We welcome the Committees’ recognition that most renters are satisfied with their homes, and the majority of landlords provide safe, decent and comfortable homes.

“The Committee is right to argue that improving standards requires a mix of incentives to support landlords to meet the planned Decent Homes Standard sooner than 2035, whilst improving enforcement to root out rogue and criminal landlords that have no business operating within the sector.

NRLA recommendations

“We are pleased that the Committee has taken heed of several of the NRLA’s recommendations on enforcement, including the need to better understand council capacity, improve transparency around local enforcement activity, and ensure the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database helps responsible landlords to demonstrate compliance.

“That said, we fundamentally reject the idea that it should be easier for councils to introduce landlord licensing schemes. Licensing can be an effective tool when used sparingly and in a focused manner. Allowing local authorities carte blanche to apply it will serve only to duplicate the information councils will be able to obtain from a well-designed PRS Database.

“More broadly, we welcome the Committee’s calls for the courts to be properly resourced to cope with the impact of the Act, and its rejection of calls for rent controls.

"As it rightly concludes, they would undermine the supply of affordable properties. We agree with the Committee that the focus must instead be on ensuring the rental appeals tribunal processes cases far quicker than they do at present.”

Photo credit: ©House of Commons/Laurie Noble