Independent landlords are vital to ensuring a fair and functioning PRS, the housing secretary has said.
Michael Gove told the NRLA of the importance of landlords providing tenants with “flexibility and choice” as well as the value for money options that go with them.
Gove explained the government’s plans to reform the sector following proposals of the Renters Reform Bill.
He believes that tenants and landlords share common interests as private rented properties should be a place that can be a home and an investment, a valued asset and precious security, a shelter and haven.
“It is vital that these relationships work for everyone and that we strive to strike a balance for all,” he continued.
Focussing on the government’s plans to reform the sector — including ending section 21 repossessions — the secretary of state also commented on tenant-landlord relationship breakdowns: “It is important that the law is there for the victim, whether tenant or landlord.”
He went on to pledge to provide “more comprehensive grounds” for landlords to recover properties and to make it “easier to repossess” them where tenants are at fault.
Gove also pledged to improve the system where repossession cases end up in courts, citing the use of digital platforms as a way of speeding up the processing of legitimate repossession claims.
Commenting on the secretary of state’s comments, Ben Beadle, CEO at the NRLA, said: “We welcome the housing secretary’s commitments and his recognition of the importance of individual landlords.
“As he rightly notes, the Renters Reform Bill needs to work for responsible landlords every bit as much as tenants — without this it will serve only to exacerbate the rental housing shortage many tenants are now facing.
“The NRLA will continue to work closely with ministers to ensure the details of the bill work for all, including campaigning for improvements to the courts system to ensure landlords are not left for months on end, where they have a legitimate reason to repossess a property.”
