One of the highest profile figures in the lettings industry says the apparent inaction by government over rental reform gives an opportunity to rewrite the proposals and get them right.

Neil Cobbold, a prominent lettings sector commentator and UK managing director of automated payment service PayProp, says with the new ministers at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities concerned mostly with the rising cost of living, private rental sector reform could take a back seat for the foreseeable future.

Cobbold, who has authored PayProp’s response to government consultation on its controversial rental reform White Paper, has detailed where the changes should be made.

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Evictions – With the government proposing a new Ombudsman to settle disputes between tenants and landlords, PayProp says we need more clarity on what role they will have in cases of rent arrears and anti-social behaviour before and during any eviction process.

Cobbold notes: “While the White Paper confirms the removal of Section 21 and the expansion of mandatory eviction grounds under Section 8, the government may have to go further to speed up the Section 8 process to keep tenants and landlords out of limbo. As non-payment of rent makes up a large proportion of current Section 8 cases, we would also wish to see the government allow third-party evidence from PropTech providers, as well as banks and other sources, to be submitted to the courts. We ask the department to establish a set of standards that this evidence must meet in order to be accepted by the courts as verification that it is a true reflection of rent demands and payment history.”

He says that instead, all rent arrears evictions cases could be dealt with by a First-tier Tribunal. 

“We also call on the government to clarify when a mandatory eviction notice can be served for persistent arrears, and to establish a new mandatory ground for eviction in cases when landlords need to refurbish a property to comply with the newly-proposed Decent Homes Standard.”

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Rent changes – The White Paper also suggests tenants should be able to challenge rent increases more easily. PayProp asks that the government recognises the role of letting agents in this process. 

It says agents can provide an effective and impartial channel of communication between landlords and tenants and PayProp proposes a standard template for rent increases that also lays out the tenant’s rights and means to challenge an unfair rent increase.

Additionally, in the current proposal, rent increases challenged at the Housing Tribunal can only be reduced. However, given the potential for a time delay between the case being brought and being heard, PayProp says tribunals should be allowed to set a higher increase than was initially demanded in line with market conditions at the time the case is heard. 

The landlord/agent relationship – A large percentage of landlords use letting agents to manage their properties. However, says Cobbold, the White Paper does not fully recognise the opportunities this relationship brings to raise standards in the private rental sector.  Many of the changes proposed by the White Paper require landlords to demonstrate compliance. The government could reduce that burden by allowing letting agents who fully manage properties to take on some of those duties.

“We also ask the government to allow managing agents to access the proposed Property Portal on the landlord’s behalf,” adds Cobbold. “If they also provide Application Programming Interface (API) routes into the Property Portal, agents using PropTech can easily automate information and evidence uploads, greatly reducing the burden of compliance without compromising standards”.

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Recognising the need for reform – Cobbold concludes: “While we have yet to see where reform sits on the new government’s agenda during the ongoing cost of living crisis, the importance of the housing sector to the economy and to people’s lives mean that it should remain a priority. We ask the government to take into account views from across the industry to ensure we have an efficient and accessible PRS that delivers high-qualify housing for all.”