The National Residential Landlords Association says it’s ready and willing to work with a future Labour government on private rental sector reform.

The party yesterday pledged to resuscitate many of the measures contained in the Tories’ Renters Reform Bill before it was abandoned ahead of the election.

The Labour manifesto says: “Labour will legislate where the Conservatives have failed, overhauling the regulation of the private rented sector. We will immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, empower them to challenge unreasonable rent increases, and take steps to decisively raise standards, including extending ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the private sector.”

Responding to this, NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle comments: “All of the main parties are committed to ending section 21. What matters is ensuring the replacement system works, and is fair, to both renters and responsible landlords.

“Given this, we agree with the Shadow Housing Minister who has argued that ‘landlords need robust grounds for possessions in legitimate circumstances, and they need the system to operate quickly when they do.’

“We stand ready to work constructively with a potential Labour Government to achieve this and ensure a smooth transition to the new system. This needs to include giving the sector time to properly prepare for it.”

The reference to the shadow minister refers to a comment made in April at the Report Stage of the Tories’ Renters Reform Bill when Labour’s Matthew Pennycook says: “Landlords need robust grounds for possessions in legitimate circumstances, and they need the system to operate quickly when they do.”

Other voices in the lettings industry have also commented on Sir Kier Starmer’s policies for government, should Labour win on July 4.

Neil Cobbold, commercial director of Reapit | PayProp, says: “It’s encouraging to see Labour focus on the undersupply of properties, which is at least partly responsible for the high cost of buying and renting. Building 1.5m new homes for sale and social rent, reforming planning laws, and appointing 300 additional planning officers will help, but construction on this scale will also take time to deliver. 

“… It is no surprise to see continued support for the abolition of Section 21 in the Labour manifesto. However, as we’ve argued before, immediately abolishing it without first reforming the court systems and creating new grounds under Section 8 will trouble landlords, which may further escalate prices as stock is withdrawn. We look forward to seeing details around Labour’s plans to ensure private rented sector properties meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030 – including what financing will be available.”