After seeing five years of hard work in shaping the Renters (Reform) Bill for the private rented sector (PRS) evaporate when the general election was called, the next government must work ‘from scratch’ on a new law.
That’s the verdict of Ben Beadle, the chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) writing to members on the organisation’s website.
He says the Bill was the government’s masterplan to transform the PRS with more security for tenants, the abolition of section 21 and the end of fixed term tenancies.
The controversial Bill was first mooted in 2019 with the NRLA working with its members and Government to amend and hone the plans so they were fair to landlords.
The discussions also enabled Ministers to honour their commitments to tenants.
‘We believed was fair and workable’
Mr Beadle said: “While there’s no suggestion that what was on the table was the ‘perfect’ Bill as far as landlords, and arguably tenants were concerned, what we had was something that we believed was fair and workable.
“It came as a huge blow, therefore, that Rishi Sunak’s decision to call an election when he did, rendered it dead in the water.
“It is even more frustrating when we understand that the Labour party would have supported the Renters (Reform) Bill had it been selected for ‘wash-up’ – the process in which outstanding parliamentary business is completed ahead of Parliament being prorogued.”
Essentially, it is the ‘wash-up’ period that means that any parliamentary business not completed cannot become law and cannot be carried over to the next Parliament.
Next Government will need to start from scratch
Mr Beadle says the next Government will need to start from scratch and develop new legislation for the PRS.
He adds: “This, in turn, means even greater uncertainty for landlords who have already been waiting for five years for answers on how they must run their businesses going forward.
“The repercussions could be far-reaching – for landlords and tenants.”
Along with a cost-of-living and housing crisis, surveys show that growing numbers of landlords are considering what their future is in the PRS.
The issue is, he says, that the ‘crippling uncertainty’ means many landlords will decide to sell up.
Bad news for renters
Mr Beadle continues: “This in turn is bad news for renters looking to the sector for a home, with most recent figures from property platform Rightmove showing there are now 15 tenants competing for each property.
“Both the Conservatives and Labour have previously committed to abolishing Section 21, one of the cornerstones of the Renters (Reform) Bill, but it will be down to the new administration as to how they progress this – and what priority it is given.
“We may have more clarity on what approach the different parties may take once election manifestos are published in the coming weeks.”
He added: “Whatever happens we are committed to working constructively with them to ensure proposed changes are fair and workable for landlords and tenants alike.”
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