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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Rental Reforms to be unveiled by government tomorrow

What looks suspiciously like a government leak to the Daily Mail says the long-awaited Rental Reform White Paper will be unveiled tomorrow.

The Mail says it will contain a raft of radical measures including: 

- tenants to have the legal right to have pets in their properties with landlords having limited powers to refuse;

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- tenants to have the power to appeal against landlord or agent refusal on keeping pets; 

- tenants may be expected to get appropriate pet-damage insurance;

- as expected, the Decent Homes Standard (currently applied only to social housing) will be extended to the private rental sector;

- Section 21 eviction powers for landlords and their representatives will be scrapped;

- Section 8 eviction powers will also be revised.

There is no mention in the Mail of the landlord register concept, nor of mandatory redress through an existing or new scheme - both of these ideas have been floated by the government in recent weeks.

Few other details are given in the Mail story but an unnamed government source is quoted in the paper as saying: “Not only will our new deal for renters extend the decent homes standard to the private rented sector... we’ll also give tenants a legal right to have a pet if they wish. 

“Would-be pet owners are being unfairly deprived of the company and companionship of an animal by their landlords – so we’ll change the law to end this unfairness.”

Even if the White Paper - originally pledged in 2019 - is indeed introduced tomorrow, it is likely that a mix of consultation periods and having to progress through both Houses of Parliament will mean that at least some of the changes may take well over a year to come into effect.

The Mail article is here.

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    So I’ve decided to keep snakes and rats! And it’s my legal right. It’s getting to the point your property is being confiscated by the abuse of the power of the state.

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    Anything to distract from the disastrous illegal immigration the Priti Useless cannot cope with.
    Legal right to have pets in their properties with landlords having limited powers to refuse - let's hope that includes Head Lease restricting pets, or more landlords will have to sell up.
    Abolition of S21? More landlords selling up in the near future.

    Just who do the properties belong to? The landlord, Government or Shelter?

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    Insurance companies rejoice as another product is created to facilitate this. I don’t think whoever’s idea this is realises the damage an animal can cause to an apartment. Let’s hope they have minimum properties sizes, etc or this will go pear shape very quickly, like everything other scheme these idiots keep dreaming up.

  • James B

    So when blocks of apartments are not allowed pets I wonder if this allows tenants to breach such lease terms ?

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    Forcing landlords to accept tenants with pets, whilst well intended, is going to simply push more and more landlords out of the market. This month alone I'm advertising over 5% of my clients portfolio for sale for landlords exiting the PRS (it's not a huge portfolio to be fair, but still it's more than I've ever seen). As for requiring tenants to have pet insurance - I wonder who is going to be responsible for ensuring the cover is adequate, the policy terms favourable to the landlord, and ultimately responsible for making the claim if and when the time comes?? How long realistically are claims going to take? Is there a risk that void periods will be extended due to slow or unsuccessful claims for damages? Yet more expense for the landlords to recover through rent increases, in an environment where supply is rapidly reducing. How can this possibly be good news for tenants? The lack of foresight and ignorance this government keeps demonstrating really is quite terrifying.

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    ..............so basically, hammering the majority of Tenants who will face further increases in rent to cover this latest government market manipulation.............

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    Yes, the government has yet to understand the law of unintended consequences.

     
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    Where has the joined-up-thinking gone!
    A home-owner evaluates their pet ownership on the limits of their living arrangements; tenants can soon decide on keeping a pet and then expect the limit of their living arrangements to be adapted to accommodate their wish to keep a pet at the expense of others.
    I also thought we could not insist on tenants holding contents insurance (unfair fee?), but government can insist they hold pet insurance?!?
    It is time that if 'authority' now require 'facilitators' to adapt their processes to suit the ever increasing legal status of the tenant above that of the landlord, they must also be allowed to again make reasonable charges to deliver these schemes in a reliable, recordable and correct manner.

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    Joined up thinking?
    From this government?
    You are joking, aren't you?

    Take the Rwanda debacle.
    A competent government would have then from boat to plane to Rwanda, just as Australia does. No stopping at courts or lawyers.
    So what does this govenment do?
    Advertises days in advance with flight times, locations etc and then expresses outrage when lawyers intervene and the ECHR slaps an injunction on them.

     
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    There will not be any properties in the private rental sector to let, if government goes ahead to favour tenants over landlords.. They will do holiday lets or Airbnb, rather than sacrifice their properties in the new regulations

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