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Government told to ‘commit to 90,000 social rent homes a year’ by committee chair
The government should commit to building 90,000 social rent homes a year, after a report into its proposed reforms for the private rented sector (PRS) found that they will not help address affordability.
The cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee said the government risks undermining its own proposed tenancy reforms, as part of its Reforming the Private Rented Sector report.
The committee’s report found that the proposal to ban Section 21 no-fault evictions could be undermined unless it fixes delays in the court system.
Ministers also expressed concerns that the government’s white paper may have a negative impact on the student private rental sector market and highlighted the threat to the PRS of the rise in holiday lets.
The report said the proposed sales and occupations grounds in the white paper could be “too easily exploited by bad landlords and become a backdoor to no-fault evictions”.
As a result, the committee has recommended a series of changes to the sales and occupation grounds to help combat unfair eviction and insecurity of tenure.
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The committee welcomed the government’s plans to introduce a legally binding Decent Homes Standard, but pointed to a series of obstacles threatening the ability of local councils to enforce the standard, including precarious local government finances, shortage of qualified enforcement staff, and a lack of reliable data.
Clive Betts, chair of the LUHC Committee, said: “By its own admission, the government’s white paper did not address the underlying cause of the affordability crisis in the private rented sector, namely the decades’-long failure of successive governments to build enough homes.
“Only a significant increase in housing, particularly affordable housing, will ultimately tackle the rocketing costs of renting for many tenants. We call on the government to recommit delivering the affordable homes the country needs, particularly the 90,000 social rent homes needed every year.
“The government should remedy the blight of unfair evictions and insecurity of tenure experienced by too many tenants today.”
Mr Betts said it was not clear the government fully appreciates that a creaking and unreformed courts system in England risks undermining its own tenancy reforms, including the welcome commitment to ban no-fault evictions.
He added: “For landlords and tenants, it’s vital the government now finds a practical way forward to enable courts to fast-track claims.”
The report recommended introducing a tougher civil penalties regime in the proposed Renters’ Reform Bill to ensure councils have the capability to collect financial penalties on landlords that breach standards.
In response, the government defended its commitment to delivering a fairer deal for renters and welcomed the committee’s work in this area.
A spokesperson added: “We will bring forward a Renters’ Reform Bill in this parliament, abolishing no-fault evictions so that all tenants – including university students – have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent rises.
“We are investing a significant amount of funding to improve waiting times in the civil courts, opening extra courtrooms and recruiting more judges, and will continue to engage with stakeholders across the private rented sector.”
