The main landlord body wants more details behind the soundbite rhetoric of the Renters Referm Bill, launched today in Parliament.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, says: “Responsible landlords need to be confident that when Section 21 ends, where they have a legitimate reason, they will be able to repossess their properties as quickly as possible.
“Without this assurance, the Bill will only exacerbate the rental housing supply crisis many tenants now face.
“Whilst we welcome the Government’s pledge to ensure landlords can effectively recover properties from anti-social tenants and those failing to pay rent, more detail is needed if the Bill is going to work as intended.
“Ministers must develop a plan to improve the speed and efficiency with which the courts process possession claims. Although the Government has accepted NRLA calls to digitise cases, staff numbers need to increase in the court system as well to meet the needs of these reforms.
“Likewise, the Government must recognise the serious concerns of landlords letting to students about open ended tenancies. Without the ability to plan around the academic year, students will have no certainty that properties will be available to rent when they need them.
“We will continue to work with the Government, MPs and Peers to ensure the Bill workable and fair to both responsible landlords and tenants.”
By way of context the NRLA sets out some facts about the private rental sector, rarely acknowledged by government or politicians.
According to the most recent English Housing Survey data tenants in the private rented sector are more satisfied with their accommodation than those in social housing.
Some 80 per cent of private renters are satisfied with their current accommodation compared to 75 per cent of social renters.
The vast majority of private tenancies are ended by a tenant. Some 73 per cent of private renters left their last tenancy because they wanted to move, and 10 per cent said their tenancy ended because it was only for a fixed period.
Only six per cent said they left their last tenancy because their landlord or agent asked them to leave.
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I've just given the Bill a quick scan on the Gov website and it confirms the Conservative Government's intention that all PRS stock will have to meet the Decent Homes Standards. This confirms the 'direction of travel' of EPC Grade C as a minimum for all PRS houses and flats. This spells the end of expensive to heat/fuel poverty EPC Grade D and Grade E housing units. When I checked with my local MP she confirmed that The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Bill is now almost confirmed as Law, with all domestic rental stock required to to EPC Grade C by December 2028, latest. So we've got 5 1/2 years to insulate the walls, loft or roof and install a cost effective heating system into our units. This is clearly best done when the unit is vacant and in-between tenancies.
The American Petroleum Institute's Stanford research paper from 1968, confirming that burning fossil fuels causes climate change, would suggest that investing in a new gas combi boiler is not a wise move. Dimplex Quantum electric night storage heaters or Sinclair electric air-con splits (that provide winter heating via simple internal cassettes) seem like the obvious way forward for us. I've commissioned up-to-date draft EPCs from my energy assessor and asked him prepare draft predicted EPCs to find the least expensive pathway to make my rental units both EPC Grade C AND All Electric. It's a cost but so far all pretty straightforward
1968????
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