Despite some welcome reforms, the government hasn’t done enough to protect tenants – including the most vulnerable – living in the private rented sector, warns a committee of MPs,
The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee’s report, Housing Conditions in the Private Rented Sector, published today, recommends the government introduce incentives for landlords, and strengthen deterrents against breaches to speed up compliance with the new Decent Homes Standard ahead of the 2035 deadline.
The report also calls for Awaab’s Law to be rolled out in the private rented sector in 2026, with legal timescales for landlords to resolve hazards fully in place across the sector by the end of 2028/29.
Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the HCLG committee, said: “The government’s reforms to renters’ rights are welcome and can make an important contribution to improving housing conditions for tenants, helping people to live in safe and secure homes where they are treated fairly by their landlords.
“However, more needs to be done to ensure that the new tenants’ rights are enforceable and that landlords play by the rules. Stronger and more proactive regulation and enforcement of standards by local authorities is needed to improve conditions for tenants.
“The government needs to play its part by ensuring councils have the resources to do this job effectively and that the upcoming Private Rented Sector Database gives tenants the tools they need to check that their home is suitable and safe.”
The report finds too much onus remains on individuals to take action against their landlord, whether through the courts, by contacting their local authority, or by approaching the ombudsman for redress.
Alongside the New Burdens funding already provided, the committee is calling on the government to conduct and publish a full assessment of the resources and powers currently available to local authorities to regulate and enforce standards in the sector.
On the government’s new minimum energy efficiency standard, the report warns its effectiveness could be undermined if local authorities are not adequately resourced to enforce it. It also urges the government to be more ambitious in its plans for the Private Rented Sector Database, so it can drive up standards and give tenants comprehensive information on landlord fitness, home quality, and the ability to report concerns.
Selective licensing is described as a useful tool for local authorities to target enforcement at areas with the poorest housing conditions, with the report urging the government to remove barriers inhibiting the uptake and effectiveness of these schemes.
More targeted enforcement, the committee says, could help protect the most vulnerable tenants, who may struggle to advocate for themselves and exercise their rights.
The committee is also calling for measures to protect renters at the lowest end of the market, who it says are more vulnerable to rent increases and other unintended consequences of the wider reforms. It warns that retaliatory rent increases could act as a form of economic eviction for renters already struggling to afford their rent, though it stops short of recommending rent controls at this stage. Instead, it says the government’s immediate priority should be ensuring existing protections against above-market rent increases, via the First Tier Tribunal, are functioning effectively.
The report reiterates the committee’s view that the government should unfreeze the Local Housing Allowance and ensure it matches at least the 30th percentile of market rents, to help protect households on lower incomes from being displaced into poorer accommodation or made homeless.
Eshalomi added: “Far too many private renters are living in homes that are sub-standard. Poor conditions in the rented sector are ultimately a symptom of the nation’s wider housing crisis, especially the lack of social and affordable housing. The government needs to come forward with the long-term housing strategy and set out a credible plan to address the drivers of poor housing conditions.”
Main image: Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government committee
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