The demonisation of landlords can’t go on
The Government is to proceed with reforms of the rental sector, with legislation that landlords are warning will drive many of them out of the market and put up costs. Michael Gove, the architect of a Bill to be published today, says it will make the system fairer for tenants with a range of protections from arbitrary eviction and rent rises.
The Renters’ Reform Bill will remove the power of landlords to force out tenants without justification once their leasing contract has expired, the so-called “no-fault evictions” enshrined in Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. In future, a tenancy will only be forcibly ended if the landlord has a valid ground for possession, such as “persistent arrears”, anti-social behaviour or if a landlord wants to sell their property.
Mr Gove says the measure will rebalance the powers and rights of landlords and tenants, but property owners fear the law is being tipped too far in favour of renters. There is a danger in demonising landlords in that many will take their homes off the market entirely.
The private rental sector is already subject to dozens of laws. Property expert Phil Spencer has estimated that there are at least 150 national regulations governing fees, tenancy rights and standards, with more imposed locally. What is needed is a significant simplification of the rules, not more to be piled on top, and yet in addition to the new shake-up, landlords will be expected to meet strict zero carbon requirements.
Some potential difficulties have already been exposed. Ending standard fixed-term tenancies will pose a problem for landlords who rent to students because they rely on short-term contracts to ensure existing tenants leave at the end of the academic year.
Other proposals are hard to justify. For instance, landlords must consider renting to tenants with pets. Surely the owner can decide whether they want pets in their home, yet the onus would be on landlords to prove why a request to accept a pet is unreasonable.
This Bill risks driving landlords – especially those with buy-to-let investment properties – out of the business and forcing them to sell up. Perhaps the Government judges that will put more homes onto the market for young people to buy, but it is already reducing the number of rental properties and pushing up rents, especially in London. Have the consequences been thought through?