Government To Deliver ‘New Deal’ For Renters In Private Residential Property
On the 11th May 2022, it was published by the Department for Housing, that the Decent Home Standard would look to be extended across the private rented sector, to ensure that those in rented accommodation would have secure and quality homes.
Under this Legislation, Section 21 Notices would no longer exist, so that a private renter could have the knowledge that they could remain in their home – given that 22% of people who moved in 2021, did not do so as a result of their own choice.
It is thought that these reforms could ease at least £1000.00 from the cost of moving from renters and The Bill would also mean that when a Landlord required possession of a property, it could also make it easier for a Landlord wanting to evict a Tenant who was wilfully not paying rent by introducing new and stronger grounds for repeated defaults of rent arrears or reduced notice periods for repeated incidences anti-social behaviour in their immediate area.
It is believed that this could reduce up to £3 billion from housing benefit that is paid to Landlord’s, where a Tenant is living in a substandard home and save the NHS £340 million on those that are forced to see treatment as a result of living in inadequate homes.
To aid this, a Private Renters’ Ombudsman will be created to enable the disputes between a private renter and Landlord to be settled quickly, at a significantly lower cost, and without going to Court. This Ombudsman will cover all private landlords letting properties, and also make sure that when a resident lodges a complaint, that the Landlord takes the appropriate action to remedy the issue. A new portal would also be created to assist Landlords in understanding their obligations, a way for a tenant to hold a Landlord to account, and for a Council to be involved when issues arise.
We are now waiting for the White Paper (which is a Government report giving proposals on the issue) to be released, which we are told will be later on this year, and the Housing Minster has confirmed it is being worked on as we speak – so keep your eye out for further blogs with more information!