A gathering of industry leaders has highlighted critical concerns around the Renters’ Rights Bill, as the seismic legislation makes its way through Parliament.
Hosted by lettings tech platform Goodlord, the event brought together key industry figures including NRLA chief executive, Ben Beadle, Propertymark CEO, Nathan Emerson, the British Property Federation’s director of policy, Ian Fletcher, and Lord Best, a crossbench peer focused on housing. They were joined by over 50 figures from across the industry.
One key area of worry raised by Goodlord CEO, William Reeve, was the prohibition of ‘bidding wars’. Reeve highlighted that a likely unintended consequence of such a policy would be for landlords to ‘overprice’ their properties, in the expectation that they would be negotiated down – leading to ‘horrifying’ headline numbers on rents and a less favourable environment for tenants. Reeve pointed to a similar scheme in New Zealand which was ultimately scrapped.
A range of attendees flagged ongoing fears around pressure on the courts, with Propertymark CEO Nathan Emerson raising concerns around how the existing system – which is already under pressure – will handle the rise in demand from landlords and tenants. This issue is something that will “come back to bite”, believes British Property Federation Director of Policy, Ian Fletcher.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, also voiced concern around how the end of payments up-front could have unintended consequences for renters on the margins; removing a lifeline for those who don’t meet referencing thresholds on paper but need to rent in the private sector.
Lord Best indicated that there was appetite in the House of Lords to address key concerns through amendments, such as the issues around fixed-term tenancies and the student lets market – an area the sector has long highlighted as in need of additional nuance. He also stated his belief that the legislation would not spark a so-called landlord exodus, despite some landlords likely taking this moment to exit the sector, and instead that more supply would move in the direction of landlords with larger portfolios.
The speakers also underscored the supply and demand realities challenging the sector and the pressing need to rapidly build more rental homes.
However, attendees also praised the upgrades being made to the Decent Homes Standard, the additional flexibility being afforded to tenants, and expressed hope that a well-run Ombudsman will push unscrupulous landlords out of the market.
Goodlord CEO Reeve also emphasized that a more detailed property register, incorporating elements like the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), would streamline compliance and improve transparency. He noted that such a system would benefit both landlords and tenants by facilitating the tracking of key safety and legal information.
The Renters’ Rights Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 4 February.
I have accepted 6 months rent in advance from 2 of my tenants who were relocating from London and were still searching for a new job. One of these tenants had used his redundancy money but was highly skilled with no problem finding employment. Under normal circumstances no landlord would ever accept an unemployed tenant. My second tenant had just finished college and was setting up his electrician’s business with very little credit history, Money was loan from parents who were happy to act as guarantor. Landlords don’t ask for 6 months upfront but why should it not be offered. I would also like to see a landlord’s right to do periodic property inspections where with a reasonable time tenants can not refuse. It is the landlord’s property and it is the landlord who is paying for all repairs and maintenance.
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Totally agree. At the end of the day the government seem to want a one size fits all approach and it simply wont work. I also find the pushing out of small landlords in favour of those with larger portfolios interesting. Time and time again the horrific living conditions highlighted in the media are homes rented from large scale institutions were individual responsibility does not exist and tenants find themselves unable to access help because the person they ring has no ability or responsibility for ensuring work is actually done. Smaller landlords in my experience tend to value their properties and tenants and look after them. And time and time again successive governments have imposed sanctions on smaller landlords for not addressing issues whilst failing to impose the same standards on local governments and housing institutions. The signalling that is coming over loud and clear for smaller landlords is get out whilst you still can.
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In summary, ALL shades of govts are pathetic in their main job, managing the economy, mainly due them focusing on issues which get them re-elected to their £90K /yr + expenses+ 2nd home+ and jobs for many family (extended) members. Look at the value of our currency dropping from 5US Dollars in the 1950s to circa US 1.20 now. Also the perverse encouragement of many foreigners (Russians, Chinese, Asians and East Europeans) dishonestly earned money to buy property in UK combined with mass immigration and govts’ failure to build homes, along with selling off most council housing AND a few really bright sparks in politics / govt not using the money to build more houses has contributed to our current plight. One last factor is nearly all parties are frightened to increase direct taxes as it would sure fire lose them elections. Instead they go for indirect taxation ( the most inept, expensive, and wasteful method) of taxation. What can one expect from our pathetic Politicians?
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