news | 3 weeks ago | Jon Yarker

Renters Rights Bill progress invites industry ire

The progression of the Renters Rights Bill, which was debated again yesterday in parliament, has invited further ire from the BTL industry.


MPs voted on amendments to the bill which has now moved to the upper house for further scrutiny.

Several organisations representing landlords - such as the NRLA, Propertymark, Goodlord, Leaders Romans Group and the British Property Federation - have since penned an open letter to the government again protesting against the bill.

The view of these groups is that “some elements of the bill would harm the interests of landlords and tenants alike, reducing access to private rented accommodation for some groups.”

Several amendments have been singled out for criticism. For instance, landlords will be restricted in how much they can ask from tenants up front before a tenancy begins.

According to Propertymark, this could potentially reduce housing options for some: “People on fixed incomes like pensions, those with lower incomes, the self-employed, and overseas students may all have challenges in passing referencing and affordability checks.

“Paying a larger proportion of rent at the start of a tenancy gives tenants an alternative way to evidence their ability to sustain a tenancy, giving landlords confidence in renting to them.”

Other amendments include landlords to pay fees to fund a PRS ombudsman, lack of guarantor liability after a tenant dies and the creation of a national PRS database.

Such amendments have been criticised as increasing costs for landlords and giving too much power to tenants as a result.

As such, the NRLA made a statement on behalf of its coalition of bodies representing landlords: “Limiting rent in advance, combined with frozen housing benefit rates and not enough rental housing will make it all but impossible for those with poor or no credit histories in the UK to prove their ability to sustain tenancies.

“Cutting of any assurance landlords might seek when renting to those who cannot easily prove their ability to afford a tenancy is neither practical nor responsible. Those who will suffer are those most likely to struggle to pass affordability checks.”

In contrast, the government has remained steadfast in support of the bill.

In a statement released before the bill’s most recent debate, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said: “The Bill will modernise the regulation of our country’s insecure and unjust private rented sector, levelling decisively the playing field between landlord and tenant.

“It will ensure we can drive up the quality of private rented housing so that renters have access to good quality and safe homes as a matter of course. And it will allow us to crack down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords who exploit, mistreat, or discriminate against renters.”

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