30 COMMENT
This in effect is wasted money on what is a very expensive sticking plaster! It produces nothing concrete, but delivers etraordinary profi ts for a number of private landlords. Some of them are very unscrupulous.
Among the biggest contributors to the rising tide of homelessness and its cost to councils, has been the growth in Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Ministry of ustice fi gures on repossession and eviction, which cover the period April to June 2024, shows the following: • 2,916 privately renting households were removed from their homes by bailiffs as a result of a Section 21 eviction –the highest for over 6 years, and up 31% in the past year; and
• Between April and June 2024, 8,322 landlords in England began Section 21 eviction court proceedings in the past three months – up by 11% from the year before.
INVESTMENT NEEDED Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “As we hit yet another devastating record on homelessness, and evictions continue to rise, this government must succeed where previous governments have failed and tackle the housing emergency head on. “Without a clear plan to invest in genuinely affordable social homes, thousands more children will be forced to grow up in damaging temporary accommodation, spending months if not years living out of suitcases, crammed into grim bedsits and B&Bs, and unable to put down any roots.
“The government must urgently establish a cross-department homelessness strategy and scrap no fault evictions if we are to end homelessness. Our Brick-by- Brick report shows how it can ramp up to 90,000 social rent homes a year in this parliament. Social housing would pay for itself within a few years, and in doing so relieve the pressure on private renting, generate new jobs, and create savings for the and benefi ts bill. What is not to like?
But a warning has been given to the Government by private landlords that many of them are prepared to walk away from the sector or to impose sizeable rent hikes of up to 10% or more in response to the abolition of Section 21 evictions or if the introduction of fl eible tenancies means that tenants can walk away from deals after just two months. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, has said the Bill would “rebalance the relationship between tenant and landlord”, end bidding wars, and crack down on unscrupulous landlords. With the Bill
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Once the Bill is passed, it is vital that suffi cient time is provided to enable the sector to properly prepare. Over 4.5 million households will need tenancy agreements updating, letting agent staff and landlords will need to undertake training and insurance and mortgage providers will need to adjust policies and rates. None of this will happen overnight and the Government needs to publish guidance.
allowing tenants to end rental agreements with just two months’ notice from the fi rst day they move in, the National Residential Landlords Association said landlords might respond with rent rises in areas like city centres and coastal tourist hotspots. The NRLA, which represents 110,000 private landlords, said its members were discussing how to adjust prices to mitigate the risk to incomes posed by renters who would be able to sign a tenancy agreement and pay for only two months before leaving. Previously, tenants often had to wait for six months before they could leave, the NRLA said.
FAIRNESS FOR PRIVATE (AND SOCIAL) LANDLORDS
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, has emphasised the importance of transparency and fairness in the upcoming changes to the private rented sector. He noted how crucial it is that steps be taken to deal with wait times which prevent the courts from ruling on cases in a timely manner.
Beadle commented: “Plans to reform the private rented sector have been on the table for over fi ve years now. bove all, renters and landlords need certainty about what the future looks like. It is vital that the new Bill works, and is fair, to both tenants and landlords alike. “The end of Section 21, ‘no explanation’ repossessions represents the biggest change to the sector for over 30 years.
“In addition, ending Section 21 will leave the courts needing to hear possession claims where landlords have a legitimate reason. The cross-party Housing Select Committee has warned that without reforms to ensure the courts process cases much more swiftly, they risk becoming overwhelmed. This will not serve the interests of tenants or landlords seeking justice.”
Delivering the new homes is likely to fall disproportionately onto housing associations and local councils, but they are not eactly fl ush with cash right now as can be seen in the following section of an open letter written to the deputy prime minister, by representatives of the social housing sector.
“Capped income, crippling cuts, unfunded new requirements and soaring costs have decimated the housing association and council’s housing budgets. Rental income is 15% lower in real terms than in 2015, at the same time as we need to invest up to £50k on average in every social home over the next three decades to ensure they are safe, high quality and decarbonised. Without action, councils will face a £2.2bn black hole in their housing budgets by . nd refl ecting these fi nancial pressures housing association starts on site of new homes were 30% down last year compared to the year before, with further falls expected this year. “We are all united on the need for urgent action, which must include long- term income certainty, an immediate boost to existing grant programmes, and fairer access to building safety funding. At the next spending review, we need a long-term plan for new and existing social homes, underpinned by a fair and sustainable fi nancial model developed alongside councils and housing associations.”
And in a parting shot to the deputy prime minister, the open letter ends with the words “Without this, we will not be able deliver our shared ambition to build 1.5 million new homes this parliament. New build projects are already being delayed and cancelled across the country due to signifi cant fi nancial pressures and uncertainty.” Solving the country’s housing supply and affordability crisis is looking anything but easy.
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