Another think tank has come up with proposals to scrap Section 21 eviction powers and cap rents - and it also doesn’t hold back saying what it thinks of the private rental sector in general.
In a new wide-ranging and radical report on altering fundamental parts of the British economy, the London-based Left-leaning New Economic Foundation describes the private rental sector as “the most unaffordable, and least secure tenure of housing, relied on by increasing numbers of families and older people”.
It also says it was created ”in the interests of investors and landlords” and is in urgent need of reform.
The NEF wants:
- the power to control rents devolved to regional authorities, as London KLabour mayor Sadiq Khan has already advocated;
- ending what it calls ”no-fault Section 21 evictions”;
- Introducing lifetime and open-ended tenancies, as is the already the case in Scotland;
- a publicly-accessible database of landlords and rents, administered by regional centres.
The NEF says it has “developed a model of rent controls fit for the 21st century that would limit rents within and between tenancies and bring rents down to levels affordable on local incomes.”
It continues: “At the heart of this proposal for rent controls sits the setting of a desired rent level, which would be developed by new regional centres and to which rents on individual properties would be reduced in the first instance. After rents had reached the DRL, a Private Rent Index would control rents.”
You can see the full report here.
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Anything about regulating bad tenants.
Set what rents? There won’t be a PRS to meddle with if rents are reduced. I’m getting really fed up with the staggering ignorance of these policy wonks who think the PRS is some coherent monolith wedded to keeping property available to rent. Whereas, there are millions of small individual landlords who will simply go away if their rental is non-viable.
No mention where they will house all the tenants when landlords walk ?
JB they have demonstrated their inability to understand the sector so how can they possibly understand that there will be many more homeless tenants to be housed if these foolhardy ideas ever get implemented
I guess these organisations consist of people who rent rather than people who lets. They have no clue as to what it takes to rent out a property and hence the rent control. Rather superficial thinking for those who sits on their high chairs
One would have thought that the viable solution is to help them get onto property ladder, which apparently majority of them doesnt want to unless it is dirt cheap or "affordable" or increase social housing rather than to attack prs
Ultimately the Government want big institutions to run the PRS.
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