Welcome to our weekly Newsround, where we bring you our picks of the biggest housing news stories from the past week.
Now, the King's Speech is over, and housing reform appears to be back on track.
Tenants Bill of Rights
This is quite similar to the Leaseholder Reform Bill which was killed in the “disarray” before the last Parliament was dissolved. The King's Speech Report sets out what the Bill will do:
The Tenants' Rights Bill is a comprehensive overhaul of the private rented sector and this Government is determined to act on the failures of the previous Government, transforming the rights of 11 million private renters in England by:
Abolish Article 21's “no-fault eviction”, removing the threat of arbitrary evictions and increasing tenant safety and stability. A clear and expanded new ground of possession will be introduced, allowing landlords to repossess properties if necessary. Strengthen tenant rights and protections. For example, allow tenants to challenge rent increases designed to force evictions through the back door, and introduce new legislation to end the practice of rent bidding wars by landlords and letting agents. Give tenants the right to request pets. Landlords must take this into account and cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords can, if necessary, request insurance to cover potential damage caused by pets. Apply appropriate housing standards to the private rented sector, ensuring homes are safe, secure and free from hazards. Tackle the decay of low-quality housing. Apply “Awake Law” to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframe within which private rented sector landlords have to make homes safe where there are serious hazards. We will create a digital database for the private rented sector, bringing together information that is important to landlords, tenants and councils. Tenants will have access to information to help them make choices when entering into a new tenancy. Landlords will be able to quickly understand their obligations and demonstrate compliance, providing certainty for both tenants and landlords. Councils will be able to use the database to focus enforcement efforts where it is most needed. We will support faster, cheaper resolutions where disputes arise, preventing them from escalating into costly court proceedings. A new ombudsman service for the private rented sector will provide fair, just and binding resolutions for both landlords and tenants, reducing the need to go to court. We will make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants on benefits or who have children in renting properties, ensuring no family is discriminated against and denied a home when they need it. We will strengthen enforcement powers for local councils. New investigation powers will make it easier for local authorities to identify and fine unscrupulous landlords and drive bad operators out of the industry.
How all this will play out in practice remains to be seen until we see the draft bill, which will no doubt include other things not mentioned here.
Of course, what landlords are most worried about is the removal of section 21. This is one thing that will not be changed as the Bill works its way through Parliament, and lawyer David Smith predicts that landlords will not wait to implement it until the court system has been improved, as the previous government promised.
Other concerns for landlords include what the grounds for foreclosure are for non-payment of rent and what will happen to student tenancies.
However, at least from the briefing materials, it does not appear that they intend to abolish fixed terms as in the Tenant Reform Bill, so it will be interesting to see whether this actually makes it into the draft Bill.
However, David Cox of Rightmoves says it's unlikely to be published before October.
Official investigation finds 19% of tenant deposits unprotected
This is a fairly high figure. It’s more of a problem for landlords than it is for tenants. If your security deposit isn’t protected:
Landlords will no longer be able to make any deductions and tenants will be able to pursue claims through the courts for up to three times the deposit.
This could mean that these tenants cannot be evicted as landlords will not be able to use Section 21 (unless the security deposit is repaid) and if the tenant brings a claim for non-payment of rent they will be able to claim a penalty as a defence.
If you are a homeowner in this situation, our kit may be able to help.
HMRC and Labour MPs join forces to crack down on landlords
Liverpool Labour Council's interim head of housing, Louise Harford, wrote a blog explaining how the council was working with partner agencies including Merseyside Police, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, HM Revenue and Customs and the Home Office, saying:
Experience and information mean that a pattern of non-compliance in one area is likely to occur in other areas too, whether that be trading standards issues, tax or other avoidance behaviours so frequently associated with private rented property.
He further adds:
It's not just unlicensed landlords who are breaking the law here – many licensed properties are also used for drugs, brothels, human trafficking and other criminal activities.
Obviously, that's not what we want, so this seems like a good plan and maybe other councils will follow suit.
However, many comments have pointed out that the way Liverpool City Council itself is managed is not without problems.
Landlord exodus continues
According to the TwentyEA report, there appears to be a significant increase in landlord sales: in June 2024, for example, 18.4% of properties for sale had also been listed as rentals within the three years prior to being put up for sale.
“We are thrilled to be working with EA to bring this exciting technology to the market,” said Katie Villany, Executive Director of TwentyEA.
Our data shows that there has been a significant increase in the number of landlords selling properties, reducing the size of their portfolios or, in some cases, exiting the real estate industry altogether.
There is currently a lot of uncertainty in the rental housing market as to how the change in government will affect landlords, who are also feeling the effects of suddenly rising interest rates and higher costs across the board, so a number of factors are likely at play.
According to this post from LandlordZone , it appears that most of these sales are coming from older landlords, as the average age of landlords is lower due to the high number of “enthusiastic 30-something investors” – which is good news.
But a decline in the overall number of rental properties would be bad news for the housing sector and the government, as it would only exacerbate the existing housing crisis.
Scraps
How to keep your home cool
The vast majority of landlords provide “decent housing for their tenants”
Lloyds Banking Group announces plans to turn disused office site into social housing
Real estate agents urged to lobby MPs to influence new Tenants Bill of Rights
Bidding wars aren't the problem; they're just a symptom
Newsround returns next week.