Greater protection for tenants

Major review could be on the way

New rules to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords and letting agencies could be on the way, after the government launched a major review of the private rented sector.

Launching the review, the government said it was important to look at the impact of the recent growth in the market, much of it fuelled by buy-to-let investors.
The sector has grown by almost a third over the past six years, and there are now around 2.5m homes in England being rented from more than half a million landlords.

There is current legislation in place to protect the rights and safety of tenants, such as Gas Safety, Houses in Multiple Occupation and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. However many investors believe the rights of landlords are also less than well protected and would like to see this addressed by the forthcoming review.

To balance the argument unscrupulous tenants can take from between 10 to 12 weeks for a landlord to regain possession of their property, going through the proper court process, costing the landlord a great deal of time, money and stress.

The review, which will be written by two academics from the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York, will look at how the increasing number of buy-to-let accommodation and student tenants has changed the face of the private rented sector.

With people buying houses later in life, the proportion of under-30 households renting has increased to 43 per cent compared with 33 per cent in 2001.

Many low-income families use the private rented sector while waiting for a council house, but often face living in poor conditions and with little security, the government believes.

Julie Rugg, one of the academics commissioned to carry out the review, added: "Many people experience renting privately at some point in their lives, but private renting as a sector isn't well understood."

The review is expected to be completed by October. The government said it would consider its recommendations to see what else can be done to improve the sector for both landlords and tenants.