Rented Housing: Reform – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to deliver reforms for renters through the proposed renters reform bill.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains committed to building back fairer and delivering a better deal for renters. We will publish a White Paper in 2022 which sets out a package of reforms to create a fairer private rented sector that works for both tenants and landlords. This will include further detail on repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, and on targeted enforcement measures that drive out criminal landlords. We will explore the merits of a landlord register as part of this work.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-10-28/65377

Private Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to create a fairer private rented sector.

Eddie Hughes: We will bring forward proposals to reform tenancy law to abolish Section 21 evictions and improve security for tenants in the private rented sector, as well as strengthening repossession grounds for landlords when they have valid grounds. Proposals for a new ‘lifetime’ deposit model will also be outlined, to ease the burden on tenants when moving from one tenancy to the next. We are also committed to raising standards in privately rented accommodation, and driving out rogue landlords, including by ensuring all tenants have a right to redress, and ensuring well targeted, effective enforcement that drives out criminal landlords.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-05-26/8001

Housing Secretary Announces Proposals To Change Planning

The Secretary of State for Housing, Robert Jenrick MP, yesterday announced a package of measures to reform the planning system and encourage house building. He also confirmed the Government intends to bring forward the Renters Reform Bill (encompassing the abolition of section 21, ‘lifetime deposits’, and the extension of the rogue landlords database) this year, as well as a social housing white paper. The Government plans to publish a ‘white paper’ in the spring, setting out their ambitions for reform of the planning system. Read more on the NLA website.

https://landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/housing-secretary-announces-proposals-change-planning

LGA Has Another Go At Right To Buy Reform

Having been snubbed by the Spending Review, the LGA is having another go at Right To Buy (RTB) reform, hoping the Queen’s Speech has scope for councils retaining all receipts and setting discounts locally to boost housebuilding. Pitching a seven-point plan to boost public services, the LGA proposes a new Housing and Planning Bill to empower council-home delivery – with provision for streamlining the local plan process and greater powers to act where housebuilding has stalled, scrapping permitted development rights – and devolve RTB. Read more on the LGA website.

https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/lga-sets-out-queens-speech-seven-point-plan-boost-public-services

LGA Goes ‘Gloves Off’ Over Right To Buy Reform

The LGA has gone ‘gloves off’ over council housebuilding – warning the government that plans for thousands of new homes are at risk unless Right To Buy (RTB) is reformed in next month’s Spending Round. Last year, councils built more homes than they have for a quarter of a century, with latest LGA stats showing councils in England alone directly built 2,560. That’s the highest since 1992/3 when councils built 2,580 homes. “However, the number of new council homes being built is not able to keep pace with those sold under Right To Buy,” said LGA housing spokesperson Cllr Judith Blake. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/lga-goes-gloves-off-over-right-to-buy-reform/

New Universal Credit Reform Needed Says Report

Responding to a report by Citizens Advice showing 49 per cent of those it helps with Universal Credit are in rent arrears Chris Town, RLA Vice Chair said: “Today’s report demonstrates the need for more changes to be made to Universal Credit. One of the main drivers of rent arrears has been that tenants cannot routinely choose to have the housing element of Universal Credit paid directly to their landlord at the start of a claim. Many tenants prefer to have the assurance that their rent is paid and their right to do this should be restored immediately. Housing cost support is simply not keeping up with the realities of rents in the private sector, despite them falling in real terms over the past year.”  Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/new-universal-credit-reform-needed-says-report/

Leasehold Does Not Need Major Reform, Lenders Tell MPs

The controversial system of ‘leasehold’ ownership in England does not need major reform, the body representing high street lenders in the UK has told MPs. The comments from Matthew Jupp, principal of Mortgages at UK Finance, come despite widespread criticism of the tenure from ministers and plans for radical reform. At an evidence session of the MHCLG Committee he said there was little evidence of a ‘leasehold trap’, where people are unable to sell homes because they are difficult to mortgage. “There’s 4m leasehold properties in the country at least, and the market generally works ok,” he told the committee. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/leasehold-does-not-need-major-reform-lenders-tell-mps-59771?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Labour Party Calls For Scrapping Of Section 21 And Renters’ Unions

In his speech to the Labour Party Conference John Healey called for a wide range of reforms to the private rented sector, including the establishment of renter’s unions, the introduction of rent controls, and the scrapping of section 21. The plans aim to put power in the hands of tenants through the creation of a £20m fund to set up and support the expansion of renters’ unions which will:

• Provide practical support and information, including experienced representatives accompanying tenants to meetings with landlords

• Support tenants in disputes with landlords

• Give renters a stronger national voice and coordinate national campaigns to demand better conditions and a fairer system.

Read more on the NLA website.

https://landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/labour-party-calls-scrapping-section-21-and-renters-unions

Mayor Brands Tenant Fees Bill 'A Missed Opportunity'

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared that the Government’s proposed Tenant Fees Bill is a "missed opportunity" to protect the 2.4 million private renters in the capital, and criticised Ministers for breaking their promises to publish key plans for social housing and rough sleeping before the summer. Extortionate fees and deposits mean London’s renters need to find nearly £3,700 each time they move home, compared with the nationwide average of £2,000*. In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, Sadiq, along with Crisis, Generation Rent and Citizens UK set out how a reform of private renting is desperately overdue. Read more on the Mayor of London’s website.

https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/along-with-organisations-representing-renters

Which? Urges Private Rented Sector Reform

The private rented sector is failing to serve tenants and landlords alike, a major report from Which? reveals. The sector is plagued by issues of sub-standard accommodation, insecurity and ineffective redress provisions.  Which? tracked the experiences of more than 2,500 tenants as they searched for, secured, lived in and moved on from rented accommodation in England. We also carried out a survey of 898 private landlords to understand the challenges they face. The report found evidence of wide-ranging issues from substandard property conditions to anxiety about insecure tenancies and a fear of reporting problems. Read more on the Which? website.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/07/which-urges-private-rented-sector-reform/

Leasehold: Reform - Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for the Law Commission to publish the outcome of its work on leasehold reform. 

James Brokenshire: The final report on enfranchisement is scheduled to be published in June 2019. On commonhold the Law Commission is scheduled to publish a consultation in October 2018 and a final report in June 2019. We expect the Law Commission to consult on the right to manage in November 2018 with a final report scheduled to be published in September 2019.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-07-13/163758

Leasehold Law Set For Radical Reform

Radical new proposals to provide a fairer deal for leasehold homeowners have been announced by the Law Commission. Following hot on the heels of plans by the Government to ban the sale of houses on a leasehold basis, the independent legal body is outlining a range of measures to help existing leasehold homeowners buy the freehold of their houses. These include:

·         options for changing the valuation formula, having been asked by Government to examine how to reduce the price while providing sufficient compensation to landlords

·         making it easier for homeowners to buy the freehold

·         removing the requirement that leaseholders must have owned their house for two years before making a claim

Read more on the Law Commission website.

https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/leasehold-law-set-for-radical-reform/

Reform Help To Buy To Encourage More Homes Over Profit

Help to buy needs to be dramatically reformed in order to stop housebuilders from using it to boost their profits irrespective of how many homes they build, according Avant Homes. The scheme, which is intended to support would-be first time buyers in their efforts to get on the housing ladder, must be dramatically changed in order to encourage a “social conscience” among housebuilders, the housebuilder said. An average of 39pc of the new homes sold by top national housebuilders in 2016 were purchased with Help to Buy and yet the same housebuilders increased their volumes on average by only 6pc over the same period, Avant claimed. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/12/reform-help-buy-encourage-homes-profit-housebuilder-avant-says/

'Nimby' Councils Failing To Build Enough Homes Will Lose Planning Powers, Says Javid

“Nimby” councils that don’t build enough homes will be stripped of the right to decide where new houses are placed in their area. Housing secretary Sajid Javid warned local authorities he would be “breathing down your neck every day and night” to ensure home-building targets were met. An overhaul of planning laws will give councils targets for how many homes they should build each year, taking into account local house prices, wages and the number of key workers such as nurses, teachers and police officers in the area. Higher targets will be set for areas with higher “unaffordability ratios”. If councils fail to deliver on the target they will be stripped of planning powers, and independent inspectors will take over. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/04/nimby-councils-homes-lose-planning-powers-sajid-javid

Planning For The Right Homes In The Right Places - Consultation

This consultation sets out a number of proposals to reform the planning system to increase the supply of new homes and increase local authority capacity to manage growth. Proposals include:

·         a standard method for calculating local authorities’ housing need

·         how neighbourhood planning groups can have greater certainty on the level of housing need to plan for

·         a statement of common ground to improve how local authorities work together to meet housing and other needs across boundaries

·         making the use of viability assessments simpler, quicker and more transparent

·         increased planning application fees in those areas where local planning authorities are delivering the homes their communities need

Download the consultation from the GovUK website.

Ministers Press Ahead With Neighbourhood Planning Changes

The government is pressing ahead with several reforms aimed at speeding up and simplifying the neighbourhood planning process. The CLG has published a consultation response confirming it is proceeding with measures to make it easier “for residents and business to come together to produce a neighbourhood plan”. The Localism Act 2011 grants communities a right to shape development in their areas by producing a Neighbourhood Plan, which becomes part of the local planning authority’s Local Plan, setting out housing priorities. Under the changes councils must designate all of the neighbourhood area applied for by parish councils as soon as possible, replacing the current requirement to consider an application within eight weeks. Download the consultation response from the GovUK website.

Property Tax Reform Could Encourage Landlords To Sell To Private Tenants

A new report has indicated that the Chancellor should help generation rent to own their current properties through the reform of Capital Gains Tax. The report into Britain’s property taxes reveals that taxation reform could be key to tackling housing crisis.

·         Reform of Capital Gains Tax could allow 100,000 private tenants to own rented homes.

·         Current tax system is a disincentive for landlords looking to sell their properties.

·         Tax relief should be given to landlords selling properties to existing tenants.

The report says that the Chancellor should use his budget to deliver and then stick to a clear property tax policy, to give private tenants, home buyers and investors the clarity, certainty and predictability they need for future stability and growth. Download the report from the RICS website.

Tory Climbdown Over Pay-To-Stay Plan To Raise Social Housing Rents

Ministers are preparing a climbdown over controversial plans to force hundreds of thousands of social housing tenants to pay market rents once they earn more than £30,000 a year – as they “clear the decks” of controversial policies ahead of the EU referendum. George Osborne has abandoned a package of radical pension reforms, including cuts to tax relief for higher earners, for fear of upsetting voters and causing a political distraction. The Observer now understands that ministers are also planning to modify hugely contentious elements of the housing reforms the chancellor announced last summer. A retreat on the “pay to stay” policy – which is under attack from a cross-party group in the House of Lords – will be seen as part of an attempt to avoid issues that could create negative headlines before the 23 June vote. Read more on the Observer website.

Crisis Calls For Decisive Action As Rough Sleeping Rises Again

New figures reveal that 3,569 people were found sleeping rough on any given night in England in 2015, an increase of 30% per cent on the previous year. Rough sleeping in England has now doubled since 2010 and Crisis is calling on the Government to implement a comprehensive and strategic approach to arrest this rise, including practical steps such as changes to legislation to prevent homelessness. Wide-ranging reform of the private rented sector is also desperately needed - the loss of a private tenancy is the number one cause of homelessness in England. Read more on the Crisis website.

Government Reforms Raise Issues On How Poorest Will Be Housed

Stonewater, a leading UK social housing provider, has said that the Government’s new housing reforms which aim to make housing associations more efficient and business-like, will fundamentally change the way associations meet housing needs, raising issues on how the nation’s poorest will be housed in the future. Giving evidence to the CLG inquiry into housing associations and Right to Buy, Stonewater Deputy Chief Executive Nicholas Harris said: “The Government has called on the sector to become more commercially minded and efficient [but] reforms such as Right to Buy, Pay to Stay, changes to S106 agreements, and the 1% reduction in social housing rents, will force the pace and direction of the sector and require substantial structural change. This shift in focus will prevent associations from housing poorer parts of the community.” Read more on the Stonewater website.