Propertymark's latest research report suggests some letting agents want radical changes to the Renters Reform Bill now going through Parliament.
The aim of the Renters (Reform) Bill is to deliver on the UK Government’s commitment to abolish Section 21 evictions and reforming landlord possession grounds, as well as legislate for reforms set out in the ‘A fairer private rented sector’ White Paper published in June 2022.
The Bill is currently at the Report Stage in the House of Commons before it goes for a Third Reading and then to the House of Lords.
The Propertymark report indicates:
- 73 per cent of agents think that the Bill is fundamentally unfair;
- Over 60 per cent believe the removal of fixed term tenancies will impact tenants negatively;
- 70 per cent agree that student lets should be exempt from the removal of fixed-term tenancies;
- Only around half (54 per cent) believe the government’s new PRS Database will improve PRS standards;
- And 90 per cent agree the following possession grounds should be made mandatory: breach of contract; repeated late payment of rent; securing a let on the basis of false information.
Key recommendations based on Propertymark members' feedback include expanding the government’s proposed PRS Database and Property Portal to include qualification, registration and regulation requirements for property agents; a tenant should be able to agree to a fixed term tenancy where it is mutually beneficial for both parties; and private landlords should be able to join one of the existing redress schemes for the private rented sector (Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman).
Other recommendations say the Bill should introduce a statutory code of practice for the sector to adjudicate against and set out a long-term plan for the introduction of a specialist housing court; if the portal is introduced, the requirement for local licensing schemes should be removed; and inventories and check-in/check-out reports at the beginning and end of tenancy should be added to the Bill to ensure deposits are returned speedily.
The report’s findings are based on over 650 responses from a survey of a representative sample of Propertymark’s letting agent members in England.
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “The clear view from Propertymark letting agent members highlights the importance of the need for policy makers to retain the option of fixed term tenancy where it is mutually beneficial to both parties, ensure new requirements for landlord redress complement the existing provisions that agents must adhere to, and the legislation is not a missed opportunity to regulate property agents and ensure landlords have confidence through new and strengthened grounds for possession.”
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Rental Reform Bill. The death knell for BTL and the demise of the letting industry. Bravo Shelter, Generation Nowhere To Rent, and the Lefty liberal rabble that calls itself the Tory Party.
Indeed.... lets have "a fairer private rented sector private rented sector" by totally ruining the one we have so nobody has the unfair advantage of an actual choice or anything even slightly better than anyone else, and the incentives for landlords to invest in thier properties and keep them upto date and in good order are completely taken away so eventually (as this settles in over the couple of years following implementation) all tenants end up trapped as a sitting tenants (just like in the bad-old 1970s when this last happened) in an increasingly outdated and shabby property with nowhere to move to, and also the problem that their careers suffer because they can't easily relocate for work anymore.....
So just to spell it out again....
less (or ultimately no) choice or flexibility = "fairer private rented sector private rented sector".....
Big hand of applause for the hard-left and trendy liberal-left - very much including these days the anti-business, ecconomically illiterate Tories in Labour Clothing
We have the poorest quality politicians in our history. Not one, not one single MP stands out above the rest of the dross. Every single element of our country/society/institutions is totally broken. The PRS is just one of many. It all starts with allowing 10 million immigrants into a country inside 15 years. That can't be undone and we don't have the money to catch up. The only people needing qualifications are the MPs.
Did you see that story about Rachael Maskell (Lab) stand up in the commons and ask Kemi Badenoch 'whether she had made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing The Post Office under public ownership'?
How can this woman be an MP??
Kevin Hollinrake (Con) replied 'Post Office Limited is under public ownership'.
@ JMcK, as you probably know, although the government is a majority shareholder the PO has its own board of directors able to independently screw things up for themselves just as badly as the government would.... ho-hum.
Legally, a contract should reflect exactly what both parties have agreed. Therefore, there definitely should be fixed term contracts if that is what has been agreed and desired by both parties.
As a landlord I am on your side but aparrently there are abt 700 "revenge evictions" per year where a tenant has supposedly dared to complain to the landlord of lack of repairs. The landlord has therefore (allegedly) not renewed the contract...However mostly this will happened where there is a periodic tenancy rather than during a fixed term
.. Periodic tenancies should be 12 months as that would allow time for local authorities to get involved in any failure to address repairs.
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