Industry News
Independent landlords are vital to a fair rental market
I
ndependent landlords are “vital” to ensuring a fair and functioning private rented sector, the Housing Secretary has said.
Writing for the National Residential Landlords
Association’s members magazine, Michael Gove spoke of the importance of landlords in providing tenants “with flexibility and choice, and the value for money options that go with them.” Te Minister also explained the Government’s
plans to reform the sector following publication of the Renters (Reform) Bill. Noting that there are few relationships as important as that between a landlord and tenant, he spoke of the common interests both have in a property as being: “a place that can be at the same time a home and an investment, a valued asset and precious security, a shelter and haven.” “It is vital”, he said, “that these relationships work
for everyone, and that we strive to strike a balance for all.” Focussing on the Government’s plans to reform
the sector, which includes ending Section 21 repossessions, Gove warned that in the minority of cases where relationships between landlords and tenants breakdown “it is important that the law is there for the victim – whether tenant or landlord.” He pledged to provide “more comprehensive
grounds for landlords to recover properties” and to make it “easier to repossess them where tenants are at fault.” Te Minister went on to pledge to improve
the system where repossession cases end up in courts, citing the use of “digital platforms” as a
way of speeding up the processing of legitimate repossession claims. Te Housing Secretary ended by declaring
that the Government looked forward to working closely with the NRLA “to shape the sector for the good of landlords, and tenants, right across the country.” Responding to the article, Ben Beadle, chief
executive of the NRLA, said: “We welcome the Housing Secretary’s commitments, and his recognition of the importance of individual
landlords. As he rightly notes, the Bill needs to work for responsible landlords every bit as much as tenants. Without this it will serve only to exacerbate the rental housing shortage many tenants are now facing.” “Te NRLA will continue to work closely with
ministers to ensure the details of the Bill work for all. Tis includes campaigning for improvements to the courts system to ensure landlords are not leſt for months on end where they have a legitimate reason to repossess a property.”
Only 5% of private rentals are affordable for tenants on housing benefit
Families on housing benefit are being driven to live in areas of high crime and low employment because only one in 20 private rented homes are now affordable. A freeze on housing benefit rates since April
2020 and a series of rent hikes have pushed the number of homes on the market that can be paid for through welfare down from 23% in April 2020 to 5%, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies. Currently around two million households in England and Wales receive housing benefit. Increasing interest rates are creating difficulties
for homeowners with mortgages, while private landlords are also seeing the cost of their buy to let loans ramp up. A growing number of BTL landlords are reacting by threatening to sell up some or all, of
their property portfolio. Te three year freeze in housing benefits also
means renters are being forced into homes that are less well-insulated. Te IFS found that affordable properties had heating and hot water costs that were 19% higher. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, the
housing charity, said: “We have families coming to us who are forced to put up with disrepair like mould and damp because they can’t move anywhere else that’s covered by housing benefit. We’re also regularly hearing from people who have been given an eviction notice and are facing the real threat of becoming homeless because they can’t find anywhere they can afford locally as rents are skyrocketing.”
Rents on new lettings advertised on Zoopla
increased by 10% or more every month from February 2022 to January 2023, and new-let rents are up by a fiſth since September 2019. “It’s crucial that the Government unfreezes
local housing allowance and ensures it reflects market rents so that families aren’t forced to choose between homes that are unsafe or homes they can afford,” said Darren Baxter, policy adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which funded the IFS study. A Government spokesperson said: “We’re helping
ease the pressure of rising rents by maintaining 2020’s £1bn boost to Local Housing Allowance rates, giving more than a million people an extra £600 a year on average.” “We are set to spend over £30 billion on housing
support this year, on top of significant cost of living support worth an average £3,300 per household,” the spokesperson added. “Building more affordable homes is key, which is why we’re investing £11.5 billion to deliver more social and affordable rented homes across the country.”
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMMAugust/September 2023 | 5
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