The activist group Generation Rent says it’s celebrating a victory in its campaign to secure a national mandatory landlord register.

Newspaper leaks by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities suggests that Housing Secretary Michael Gove will ally with Generation Rent tomorrow and announce such a scheme.

It is thought that other measures tomorrow will include landlords having to be part of a redress scheme and landlords having to commit to improving the condition of their properties, including energy efficiency measures.

The leak to the newspaper suggests that Gove will say some 1.1m rental properties – according to the latest English Housing Survey – do not yet meet the ‘decent homes standard’ set out by government.

He will go on to support legislation requiring landlords to improve energy efficiency in some 800,000 properties considered to fail ‘safe, warm and in a good state of repair’ criteria.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy director of Generation Rent, has written on its website: “With a national landlord register, renters will be able to check their landlord meets basic requirements to let out property, while a list of all rented properties in the country and who owns them will also make it easier for councils to enforce safety standards and prosecute the criminals.” 

He continues: “We’re still waiting for more information, including whether homes will need to pass an inspection before being allowed to be let out, or whether councils will be left to respond to complaints and target inspections through licensing schemes.”

And Craw told readers: “We’ll share more information as we get it – but in the meantime we’ll be celebrating another win for Generation Rent.”

Media reports suggest that the measures to be announced tomorrow will be merely the appetiser before the main course – a Rental Reform White Paper expected in the spring.