Reforming private renting and getting it right
Over on Landlord Law Blog, Tessa Shepperson has offered three warnings to politicians who are trying to tackle housing policy on their election campaigns.
In a nutshell, she notes the importance of housing to people’s health, wellbeing and life chances, highlights the lack of real information about the private rented sector and the actors within it, and the need to ensure it is not a bad investment.
The blog is really raising concerns about Labour’s proposals for the private rented sector: essentially rent stabilisation and longer term tenancies. These are both policies that Generation Rent is calling for – though we think Labour should go further. Tessa makes valid points about them and they merit a response.
A lifeline for first time renters
Yesterday’s Homes for Britain rally in Westminster attracted speakers across the spectrum, from Cathy Come Home director Ken Loach to UKIP’s Nigel Farage. Amid the rhetorical fireworks was a small but important policy announcement which might have passed some people by.
The Liberal Democrat speaker, Ed Davey MP, said his party would offer government-backed loans to first-time renters under the age of 30 to cover the up-front costs of a tenancy. Generation Rent has been urging the government to adopt this policy since last year – it is already being offered to civil servants.