Generation Rent

Today we've joined up with renters and housing justice campaigners from across England to launch a national renter manifesto in time for the 2019 General Election. 

Written by Generation Rent, London Renters Union, ACORN, New Economics Foundation, Renters’ Rights London and Tenants Union UK, the manifesto calls for radical reform of private renting and a transformation of the housing system - including the abolition of section 21 evictions, the introduction of rent controls and an end to discrimination of tenants on housing benefit.

We polled 2,000 people on their experience of moving home.

Right now, the private rented sector is a wild west which at best costs a fortune for somewhere you can’t call a home and at its worst is dangerously unsafe. In fact, it’s so unregulated that right now the government doesn’t actually know how many landlords are out there.

There was no mention of private renting in the Queen's Speech today, but it would be a mistake for Boris Johnson's government to overlook it.

There are just a few days left to have your say about the government’s plans to scrap Section 21, the law that allows landlords to evict tenants without needing a reason.

The Ministry of Housing’s consultation on abolishing Section 21 closes on Saturday and today, alongside other members of the End Unfair Evictions coalition, we went down to Westminster to call on the government to give tenants the protections needed to enjoy a stable home.

Transport for London has banned adverts for holiday let companies that take homes away from Londoners, following a successful campaign against the anti-tenant adverts by Generation Rent. 

One of the great things about the Tenant Fees Act is that you can save money whether you move home or stay put. 

Since June, tenants signing an agreement on a new home in England do not have to pay letting agent fees. (As of yesterday, the ban applies across the UK.)

But there's been less fanfare for the cap on deposits at five weeks' rent, which means that a tenant renewing the agreement on their current home could get a refund if their deposit is worth more than that.

Deposits are behind some of the most common problems we hear about from renters:

• tenants' money doesn't get protected
• the struggle to get deposits back when moving home
• and many of us are unable to afford them in the first place

The good news is the government is looking at how the deposits system can be improved and is asking for renters' experiences until 5 September. This is your chance to share your experience of deposits and help change the system. 

There are now three live government consultations that could help to reshape the private rental market.

One is on reforming tenancy deposits (deadline for responses 2 September), the second is on abolishing Section 21 evictions (deadline 12 October) and the third, announced last Sunday as well, proposes giving tenants access to a government database of criminal landlords.  

It's finally here! After announcing in April its intention to abolish Section 21, the government has published its proposals for making this happen.

We've been through the consultation document, which is open for responses until 12 October, and here's a quickish summary of what's in it. 

We'll be preparing our own response, but we also want to hear what you think. And most importantly, we're looking at how to make it easy for renters to respond and make sure the government does this right.