With all the debate surrounding the Renters’ Rights Bill – now the Renters’ Rights Act – it’s easy to overlook a simple truth: the private rented sector remains a vital part of our housing landscape and one we should be proud of.
Landlords provide homes for one in five households in England. In most cases, these are good-quality properties offered at fair prices to people who choose or need to rent. This market underpins labour mobility, offers flexibility, and serves a diverse range of tenants, from students to retirees. Let’s face facts, it also fills the gap once occupied by social housing.
Over the past 15 years, standards have improved dramatically, largely on the back of landlords buying better stock and improving the quality of homes. The proportion of non-decent homes has fallen from nearly half to just over 20%, and energy performance now matches that of owner-occupied properties. There’s still work to do, but these gains deserve recognition.
Yet you wouldn’t know it from the rhetoric coming from those in power, and certainly surrounding the Act. Take a look at the press release announcing the implementation date – six quotes from representatives of tenant groups and housing charities and not one from a landlord representative.
Political posturing is understandable, but a nod to the social and economic contribution landlords make would not go amiss. Too often, the narrative is dominated by negativity, while stories of good landlords rarely surface.
One landlord I spoke to recently delivers fresh eggs to tenants, refers to them as customers and enjoys a fantastic relationship with them. This individual was even featured in The Times, a rare moment of positivity in a sector often overshadowed by criticism from a well-organised anti-landlord lobby. We need more of these stories.
The Renters’ Rights Act will undoubtedly bring change. For some – particularly small-scale landlords – it may be the final straw, prompting them to sell up and opt for the simplicity of a savings account rather than field calls about broken boilers.
I know from previous articles that readers of Landlord Today are a responsive bunch in the comments, and my next statement may illicit some reaction, but in my view the Act will not cause the widespread damage predicted by others and the impact will be far less dramatic.
Landlords have weathered a decade of regulatory turbulence, starting with George Osborne’s Stamp Duty surcharge in 2016. Growth has certainly slowed, but the market has endured. The new Act will be another hurdle to clear, but landlords will adapt, just as they have before.
Our research shows landlords are already responding; 81% say they’ll be more selective about tenants, and many plan to implement inflation-linked rent increases annually rather than sporadically, such as at the end of tenancies. That may not be good news for those on the periphery of society, but significant reforms inevitably trigger adjustments, and this will be no exception.
We now have the implementation date – 1 May. Hopefully, it will allow enough time for landlords to prepare. In the meantime, let’s not lose sight of the good work landlords do and the essential service they provide.
Louisa Sedgwick is Managing Director of Mortgages at Paragon Bank
