The head of the UK’s largest not-for-profit accreditation scheme has voiced concern at the absence of details about how the radical reforms contained in the Renters Rights Bill will actually be enforced.
Isobel Thomson, chief executive of safeagent, was commenting after the second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons, passed with a large majority.
The Bill says local councils will be given stronger powers to crack down on unscrupulous landlords, with maximum fines increased to up to £40,000 for serious offenders; however, local government remains under severe pressure financially, and the Bill contains no details of how any additional enforcement will be met.
She says:“The second Reading of the Renters’ Reform Bill saw the Government restate the content of the Bill but with no further detail on how it would be delivered or the impact it might have on the market.
“We welcome the acknowledgement from both sides of the House that enforcement is a key part of the delivery of safe and secure housing. However, we need it to be effective now and that is not happening, so how can we trust that the delivery of this Bill will change anything?
“As always, professional agents will perform their vital role in supporting the sector and ensuring their tenants and landlords understand their responsibilities so that tenancies are safe and secure.”
The Bill next moves to the committee stage, at which point the measures are scrutinised in detail with possible amendments put forward by MPs.
In outline, the Bill as it currently stands, includes these measures:
- Abolition of Section 21 eviction powers;
- Tenants will be in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases supported by a Tribunal and landlords will only be allowed to raise the rent once a year and only to the market rate;
- Tenants will get a quicker resolution over disputes, cutting down on the need to go though the courts through a new Ombudsman service;
- A new database for landlords to share important information on their property standards, showing their compliance with the law and helping councils drive out the minority of criminal landlords;
- Tenants will be able request to have a pet and landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse.
