Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, says rebooting rental reform must be the number one priority for the incoming Housing Secretary, Michael Gove.
Gove held the same post before being sacked by ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the summer. In the intervening period there were two short-lived and low profile Housing Secretaries – Greg Clark and Simon Clarke, both now out of government.
Beadle says: “The NRLA congratulates Michael Gove on his reappointment as Housing Secretary. Top of his in tray will be progressing with the plans he previously worked on to reform the private rented sector, including ending Section 21 repossessions.
“Our survey data shows that most can envisage operating without Section 21 provided other proposals, such as on court reform and reformed grounds for possession, have their confidence.
“We will work constructively with the new Secretary of State to ensure the final reform package has the confidence of responsible landlords and tenants alike. This includes the need for action to tackle anti-social tenants, scrapping plans that would decimate the student housing market, and reforming the courts to ensure legitimate possession cases are dealt with more swiftly.”
Gove – who pledged he was actually retiring from front-line politics little over a month ago – was this week named as the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Property establishment figures continue to welcome Gove back.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, says: “Michael Gove will be able to hit the ground running and we look forward to working with him again. The property industry is a critical partner on levelling-up and by unlocking investment we can deliver the changes we need to see in our communities up and down the country.
“This summer we lost vital time on delivering on the Government’s agenda and urgently need a consistent and steady hand on the key issues of the day – housing supply, regeneration and net zero – which are all critical to the UK’s growth ambitions and international competitiveness.”
And Propertymark’s head of policy and campaigns, Timothy Douglas, comments “The Levelling Up agenda and reforms to the private rented sector in England would appear to be back and will take centre stage in the new government as Michael Gove returns to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“Mr Gove previously focussed on regional disparities and fixing the cladding scandal, but he now needs to go further and tackle the supply crisis in the private rented sector, implement the next steps for leasehold reform, set out the UK government’s plans for home buying and selling as well engage with the sector to get more people onto the housing ladder and stimulate right sizing to release large, family homes.”
