Over the past few months, the 21 organisations forming the Renters’ Reform Coalition have come together to set out a plan for how the government should address the renting crisis. Whilst we welcome the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, we believe the legislation needs strengthening in some key areas and have been working out the changes needed so all England’s 12 million private renters have security of tenure in quality, affordable homes, with an end discriminatory practices.
Our new report, A Roadmap to Reform, lays out how this can be done.
Here is an overview of some of our key recommendations. Read the whole report for our policy platform in full (attached below).
- No fault eviction compensation - we are calling for an automatic right to non-payment of rent in the final two months before a tenant vacates, in cases where a landlord has used no-fault eviction grounds. This would compensate for the costs and disruption of a no-fault eviction.
- Longer protected period - we urge the government to ensure that renters are protected from a no-fault eviction for the first two years of a tenancy.
- Discretionary possession grounds – all grounds for possession introduced by the Renters’ Rights Bill should be discretionary, to allow courts to consider all factors and where possible avoid or postpone a damaging eviction.
- Addressing affordability - we believe the government should establish a National Rental Affordability Commission to investigate effective methods to make renting more affordable. This should include investigation of rent control measures aimed at bringing rents down relative to incomes.
- Rent stabilisation – we continue to advocate for rent stabilisation within tenancies, with a cap on in-tenancy rent increases of the lowest of either inflation or wage growth. This measure would primarily be aimed at improving security of tenure, so a rent hike could not be used as a no-fault eviction by the back door.
- Mediated rent pauses for serious disrepair - we recommend the introduction of a new legal right to pause rent payments where a landlord fails to carry out essential repairs within a defined timeline. This would support the intention behind extending Awaab’s law to the private rented sector.
- Strengthening enforcement and selective licensing - the Bill will not deliver on its aims unless local authorities are properly funded according to the number of rented homes in their area and are supported to ensure that enforcement can take place effectively, and it should also be made easier to expand selectivelicensing schemes.
- Ending all forms of discrimination in the private rented sector - the Bill should introduce limits on the situations in which a landlord can demand a guarantor or multiplemonths’ rent upfront. There should also be stronger protections against disability and racial discrimination, including abolishingRight to Rent.
- Illegal evictions - we are concerned that the abolition of Section 21 may lead to a rise in illegal evictions undertaken by unscrupulous landlords. We are calling for the government to significantly strengthen powers for tackling illegal evictions.
Thanks to all the organisations making up the coalition and beyond whose experiences working on the frontline, conducting research to reveal the wider picture, and campaigning for change was poured directly into this. We also want to thank the renters that shared their own experiences with us, which are throughout the report, showing why change is so desperately needed.