The Government has clarified that private rental homes allocated to homeless people from local authority waiting lists will have to meet enhanced standards.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s conference that the Localism Bill would be amended so that private rental homes would meet minimum standards.
However, he did not go into further detail.
Communities and Local Government has now confirmed that the new requirements will apply to those private rental properties where homeless people are placed.
At the moment, homeless people can refuse to be housed in privately rented accommodation, and may do so if they fear losing their place on the council waiting list or if they believe they will be going into a sub-standard property.
The Localism Bill, currently going through Parliament, removes the ability of people accepted as homeless to refuse accommodation in the private rented sector.
A CLG spokesperson said: “The Localism Bill already includes a range of safeguards to ensure that tenants who accept an offer of accommodation in the private rented sector enjoy protections such as a minimum tenancy of 12 months.
“Grant Shapps has made clear that the Government proposes to strengthen those protections, and is examining doing this through regulations that are related to the homelessness measures set out in the Localism Bill, which will include the standard of accommodation offered.”
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