A new report from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee has urged the government to go further to improve the quality of private rented homes.
More than one in five private rented homes in England are currently classed as ‘non-decent’, meaning they don’t meet a basic government standard that covers repairs, heating, kitchen and bathroom facilities and hazards. This is the highest rate of any tenure, compared to one in ten social homes. Additionally, one in ten private rented homes in England have a ‘Category 1 serious hazard’ such as extensive damp, extensive mould growth, or excess cold or heat.
The Renters’ Rights Act will apply the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law, which puts stricter timelines on landlords to respond to Category 1 hazards in the home, to the private rented sector to improve the quality of rented homes. However, the Decent Homes Standard will not be applied until 2035 and there is no clear indication of the timeline for Awaab’s Law yet.
The Select Committee’s new report*, ‘Housing Conditions in the Private Rented Sector’, released on 3rd July, makes a series of recommendations to the government, to “ensure that the new tenants rights are enforceable and that landlords play by the rules.”
These include:
- Roll out Awaab’s Law in the private rented sector this year.
- Publish an assessment of the resources and powers available to local authorities to regulate and enforce standards in the private rented sector.
- Be more ambitious in plans for the Private Rented Sector Database.
- Remove barriers that inhibit the uptake and effectiveness of selective licensing schemes.
- Ensure the First-Tier Tribunal is adequately protecting tenants from ‘above-market’ rent increases.
- Unfreeze the Local Housing Allowance rate so it matches at least the 30th percentile of market rents.
Nye Jones is Head of Campaigns at Generation Rent and gave evidence to the Select Committee to help inform its findings and recommendations. He said:
“Homes are the foundations of our lives. But far too many renters are living in mouldy, damp homes that can seriously harm our health, while we have little power to improve the conditions in which we live.
“The Renters’ Rights Act is a historic law and a vital step in addressing the power imbalances between tenants and landlords. However, it is unacceptable that private renters will have to wait a decade for their homes to be brought up to a decent standard, meaning the Decent Homes Standard must be brought forward to 2030 at the latest. Meanwhile the government must listen to the Select Committee and implement Awaab’s Law immediately to prevent further preventable deaths for children and vulnerable people living in rented homes.”
