Reform UK has pledged to repeal the renters’ rights reforms introduced by the Labour government if it wins the next general election, arguing that rolling back the measures would help stimulate economic growth.
The proposal is likely to be welcomed by many letting agents and landlords who have raised concerns about the impact of the changes on the private rented sector.
Speaking in Birmingham yesterday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice – who has worked in the property sector for three decades – outlined proposals for a new “Great Office of State” that he would head, bringing together housing, business, trade and energy under a single department.
Tice said he would draw on his experience in the sector, which he claimed was worth more than “the past twenty housing ministers put together”, to reform the housing market.
“This will all help lower inflation and bring down bills for consumers.”
He cited falling rental supply and rising rents, which he argued are partly linked to the upcoming implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act.
Tice also called for faster housebuilding and a loosening of planning restrictions, saying developers should be given greater trust, alongside tougher penalties for those who breach government rules.
Campaign group Generation Rent has slammed Reform’s policy, describing it as “disgraceful” and a “gift to unscrupulous landlords”.
Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey commented: “Forcing people back into insecure and unsafe homes is not a promise, it’s a threat levelled at England’s 11 million private renters.
“Our homes are the foundations of our lives, so it is disgraceful to see Reform UK pledging to roll back new and essential protections that would improve the quality of our homes and help us to stay in them for longer.
“Reform UK had nothing to say at the debates about the Renters’ Rights Bill when it was passing through Parliament.
“They also haven’t spoken to renter groups like us about their plans, which would be a gift to unscrupulous landlords who are responsible for the poor conditions renters face right now.
“Renters have fought for decades for laws that give people greater security in their jobs and homes.
“The public widely supports the new laws to protect us, so we urge Reform UK to show renters more respect and think again about what they are offering voters.”
Responding to Reform’s proposals to repeal the Renters’ Rights Act, Mary-Anne Bowring, managing director, Ringley Group, said that they are “neither good for tenants nor landlords alike”.
She commented: “Providing a property is a service a landlord provides to the tenant and any professional landlord worth their salt will by now have made provision for the Act to come into effect. That said, we do believe that there are parts of the Act that do need amendment and further mitigation measures put in place ahead of May, but this needs to happen now and not following the next general election.
“The crux of the issue for many is the complete inability of the Tribunal system to cope with an overload of challenges to proposed rent increases, the limited recourse of landlord to regain their properties without lengthy court processes, and the bigger issue of landlords being squeezed out of the market by a blizzard of new policy and regulation.”