Housing Minister John Healey today announced a package of measures designed to offer more protection to private rental sector tenants. The package of measures outlined in The Private Rented Sector: Professionalism and Quality: consultation responses and next steps, following on from the Rugg Review published in 2008, are intended to ensure that tenants can make informed decisions before they rent, that they know their legal rights, and that in cases of a dispute, they can access legal advice and assistance.
The measures announced include:
- the creation of a National Register for landlords
- councils encouraged take a more business-friendly approach to working with the best landlords and agents in their area
- the establishment of a "hotline" giving free advice to tenants
- a "Trip Advisor"-style website allowed tenants to leave feedback on their accommodation and their landlord
- full regulation of lettings and managing agents
- tenancy rights extended to more people living in shared homes on short term lets - bringing greater protection to students and seasonal workers in particular
- raising of the AST threshold from £25k to £100k
- all tenancy agreements to be written
The Housing Minister said
Every tenant should be confident in their decision to rent as well as be clear what to expect before they sign on the dotted line. That’s why I’m making information about the track record of landlords available to everyone and written tenancy agreements will mean all tenants are clear about their rights from the outset. Extending protections to more shared homes an estimated 150,000 more people on short term lets will also have tenancy rights for the first time. But if things do go wrong a new housing hotline will mean tenants have somewhere to turn for help and advice.
What do you think? If you're a landlord, will this help clean up the industry - or just impose another layer of bureaucracy? If you're a tenant, would it help you to know about your landlord before you rented - and if so, what specifically would you like to know? Leave us a comment.
