Some important unfinished business when it comes to the private rented sector has been reported by the CLG Select Committee.

A new report on its work since 2010 notes:

“In July 2013 we published our report The Private Rented Sector, calling for the consolidation of existing legislation, greater flexibility for councils to enforce the law and raise standards and better regulation of letting agents and longer tenancies.

“The Government’s response and subsequent actions were constructive and took on board a number of points that we made. In 2015-16, nevertheless, we would have followed up a number of issues:

• The Government’s review of property conditions in the private rented sector began with a consultation paper, but, although the consultation closed in March 2014, the Government has yet to publish its response.
• Ministers said they would issue revised guidance to local authorities on prosecuting rogue landlords, but this guidance has still to be published.
• The Government agreed to the Committee’s recommendation on establishing a working party to improve the eviction process, but, although the group appears to have met, no announcements on its findings have been made.
• The Government also agreed to hold a mortgage lenders summit to understand the barriers to lenders allowing longer tenancies in their buy to let mortgages, but we have had no indication that this has taken place.

“Our successor committee may wish to follow up a number of issues outstanding from our report into Private Rented Sector.

“Additionally, in March 2015 we published a report on research into Scotland’s ban on letting agents’ fees and charges, Private Rented Sector: the evidence from banning letting agents’ fees in Scotland.

“We recommended that the Government undertake research on the likely impact of a ban on letting agents’ fees and charges to tenants in England, similar to the one applying in Scotland. We await the Government’s response.”

See the report here