Even though the Labour government’s Renters Rights Bill is having its second reading in the House of Commons as soon as Wednesday, activists have published a booklet of demands for changes to the sector.
The 21 activist organisations in the Renters Reform Coalition – including Generation Rent, tenants unions and the National Union of Students – have published what they call a roadmap for reform. And they say in a statement that their plan is “how the government should address the renting crisis.”
They go on: “Whilst we welcome the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, we believe the legislation needs strengthening in some key areas and have been working out the changes needed so all England’s 12 million private renters have security of tenure in quality, affordable homes, with an end discriminatory practices.”
Specifically they want:
- No fault eviction compensation – the coalition writes “we are calling for an automatic right to non-payment of rent in the final two months before a tenant vacates, in cases where a landlord has used no-fault eviction grounds. This would compensate for the costs and disruption of a no-fault eviction”;
- Longer protected period – “we urge the government to ensure that renters are protected from a no-fault eviction for the first two years of a tenancy”;
- Discretionary possession grounds – “all grounds for possession introduced by the Renters’ Rights Bill should be discretionary, to allow courts to consider all factors and where possible avoid or postpone a damaging eviction”;
- Addressing affordability – “we believe the government should establish a National Rental Affordability Commission to investigate effective methods to make renting more affordable. This should include investigation of rent control measures aimed at bringing rents down relative to incomes”.
- Rent stabilisation – “we continue to advocate for rent stabilisation within tenancies, with a cap on in-tenancy rent increases of the lowest of either inflation or wage growth. This measure would primarily be aimed at improving security of tenure, so a rent hike could not be used as a no-fault eviction by the back door”;
- Mediated rent pauses for serious disrepair – “we recommend the introduction of a newlegal right to pause rent payments where alandlord fails to carry out essential repairswithin a defined timeline. This would supportthe intention behind extending Awaab’s law tothe private rented sector”;
- Strengthening enforcement and selective licensing – “the Bill will not deliver on its aimsunless local authorities are properly fundedaccording to the number of rented homes intheir area and are supported to ensure thatenforcement can take place effectively, and itshould also be made easier to expand selective licensing schemes”;
- Ending all forms of discrimination in the private rented sector – “the Bill shouldintroduce limits on the situations in which alandlord can demand a guarantor or multiple months’ rent upfront. There should also bestronger protections against disability andracial discrimination, including abolishingRight to Rent.”
- Illegal evictions – “we are concerned that the abolition of Section 21 may lead to a rise in illegal evictions undertaken by unscrupulous landlords. We are calling for the government to significantly strengthen powers for tackling illegal evictions.”