Blackburn MP Kate Hollern writes her fortnightly column for the Lancashire Telegraph
After 4 years of the federal government dragging its ft, I welcomed the long-awaited second studying of the Renters (Reform) Bill within the Commons final week. It handed this stage unopposed, and can now go on to be scrutinised in depth by a cross-party committee.
The Bill had its first studying in May. On the face of it, it has enormous potential to enhance the safety and stability of the non-public rented sector, and assist ship a fairer deal for hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the nation.
It guarantees to introduce a variety of reforms to realize this. These embody abolishing part 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, banning assured fixed-term tenancies, reforming possession grounds, introducing a brand new course of for implementing annual hire will increase, creating a brand new ombudsman that every one non-public landlords should be a part of, establishing a property portal database, creating an obligation for landlords to offer phrases of tenancy agreements to tenants, and making certain the fitting for tenants to request to maintain a pet.
However, having adopted the talk at second studying, I worry that many of those guarantees could not materialise.
The authorities has introduced that the ban on no-fault evictions in England can be indefinitely delayed till after the court docket system is reformed.
This is a deeply regarding improvement on condition that, because the authorities first pledged to place an finish to most of these evictions in 2019, greater than 70,000 households have been evicted and threatened with homelessness. In actuality, these reforms could take years to finish, throughout which period hundreds extra households could possibly be affected.
Much extra must be carried out to make sure that renters are correctly protected. This Bill solely scratches the floor to repair the housing emergency.
On the Tories’ watch, mortgage payments and rents are hovering, fewer persons are in a position to purchase their very own home and over one million persons are caught on social housing ready lists.
The previous yr has seen the most important rise in rents since data started, forcing non-public renters to fork out enormous proportions of their earnings on residing prices, and this Bill does nothing to handle the cost of renting.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister’s latest U-turn on forcing landlords to make properties extra vitality environment friendly will additional condemn hundreds of thousands of tenants to hovering vitality payments.
The present common hire for a two-bed property in Blackburn is about £695. For a three-bed, it’s roughly £832.
In 2019, common rents have been lower than £500. Standard apply requires a deposit equal to a month’s hire, some hire to be paid prematurely, plus property agent charges.
This may see renters within the non-public sector in my constituency face on common a minimal upfront fee of above £1,590 for a two-bed property, or £1,864 for a three-bed property. The housing market is damaged.
At the peak of a cost-of-living disaster, tenants have by no means been so uncovered and desperately in want of motion by the federal government to determine a fairer, safer, and extra reasonably priced non-public rented sector.
Labour has made it clear will probably be pushing for measures that transcend these already within the Renters (Reform) Bill, notably on an growth of hire compensation orders; amending possession grounds to guard tenants towards ‘no fault’ evictions; and the outlawing of blanket bans on landlords accepting tenants with youngsters or who’re in receipt of advantages.
Tenants are paying the value for the federal government’s inaction. A Labour authorities would search to strengthen protections for personal renters, in order that they lastly get the long-term safety and higher rights and circumstances they deserve.
I can be fastidiously following the Bill’s development by each Houses.
