Industry News
Uncertain future for consultation on social housing tenants’ rights to access information about their homes
T
he outgoing Conservative Government launched a consultation on the rights of social housing tenants to request
information from their landlords about the management of their homes, shortly before proroguing Parliament. It is uncertain what a new incoming Government
will do with the responses. Te former social housing minister Baroness Scott had said the new rules would give tenants the tools they needed to hold their landlords to account and to drive up standards across the sector. For the first time, the rules would have permitted
social housing tenants or their representatives, such as lawyers, to request information about the management of their homes at no cost. Tis would have included issues such as damp and mould, health and safety and repair times. For example, tenants experiencing damp and
mould would be able to ask their landlord how many other homes in their building have the same problem and what action the landlord has taken to repair it. At the launch of the consultation process, DLUHC said this would give tenants “the tools to take further action if they choose”. Regarding health and safety issues, tenants
would have a right to request information about any breaches in their properties and outcomes of any inspections. Te consultation said that “tenants could take further action through the Housing Ombudsman if their landlord isn’t making the
repairs they need to make by law”. Under Awaab’s Law, which is part of the Social
Housing (Regulation) Act, landlords must fix emergency repairs within 24 hours. DLUHC stated that “tenants will be able to see how oſten their landlord is meeting this target and challenge them through the courts or take them to the Housing Ombudsman if they don’t”. Housing associations would be required to
publish information about their performance and to provide the information unless it was reasonable for them not to, with clear guidelines on how they respond to requests. Tenants would also be able to complain to the Housing Ombudsman if they were not happy with how
their information request was handled. Officials at DLUHC expected information
requests to cost landlords about £1.8m in the first year of operation, based on estimates of how long it will take landlords to respond, as well as any additional requests and reviews. Tere will be an extra cost associated with the Housing Ombudsman Service responding to complaints from tenants regarding landlords’ compliance with the requirements. Te Housing Ombudsman was due to consult
with registered providers on the proposed fee regime, a year aſter the new information rules have been introduced “so proposals can take account of actual volumes and costs”.
Landlords selling up represents biggest threat to renters
Private landlords selling their properties represents the single biggest threat to renters according to data from different housing organisations. Among households eligible for support from
a council to prevent homelessness following the end of a private rented tenancy agreement, 45% needed help because their landlord planned to sell the property. Tis was more than twice as much as the next most common reason for the end of rental tenancies which was landlords planning to re-let the property. Te news came in the wake of concerns raised by
tenant group Generation Rent, who have warned that “landlords selling properties is a leading cause of homelessness.” Despite increasing demand, the supply of private
housing available to rent is still 50,000 homes below pre-pandemic levels, figures from Rightmove show. Te total number of privately renting households, including those in stable accommodation, has
hovered around the 4.5 million mark for the last decade, according to the English Housing Survey. In that time, England’s population grew by 3.2 million, equivalent to 1.4 million households. Data published by the National Residential
Landlords Association further exposed the scale of the supply crisis across the private rented sector. A poll of landlords for the NRLA found that
83% reported that demand for rental properties by tenants is ‘strong’. Te same survey saw 31% say they plan to cut the number of properties they rent out, compared with just 9% who plan to increase the number of properties to let. Te findings are supported by recent Rightmove
data which showed that 50,000 properties are needed to bring the supply of rental homes back to pre-pandemic levels. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA,
said: “Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face. Te only answer is to ensure
16 | HMMJune/July 2024 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies. More broadly, all parties need to accept widespread calls for policies to boost supply in the private rented sector.” But the campaign group Generation Rent
accused the NRLA of trying to “hold parliament hostage to the idea that they will sell up over even the smallest strengthening of tenants’ rights”. Ben Twomey, its chief executive, said: “Long
term, if landlords sell up it makes little difference to the housing market. Bricks and mortar do not sink into the ground, and the home could be bought by another landlord, a first-time buyer or even repurposed for social housing… Te short- term issue is that tenants have an appalling lack of protection when landlords choose to sell up.” It wants the next Government to incentivise
the sale of homes with sitting tenants and require relocation payments to renters evicted through no fault of their own.
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