A new package of measures to strengthen consumer protections for tenants living in private rented accommodation was announced by Housing Minister Margaret Beckett.
The aim of the measures is to improve the quality of the private rented sector, by increasing professionalism, driving out bad landlords, and strengthening protections for tenants affected by repossessions.
New proposals to be taken forward for consultation, as recommended in Julie Rugg's independent review of the private rented sector, include:
The Government also announced its intention to change the law to ensure that tenants have a minimum two months notice if they have to leave their home because their landlord has been repossessed.
At present, a gap in legal protections means that some tenants could be evicted at short notice if their landlord is repossessed - sometimes with less than two weeks to move their belongings and find somewhere new to live.
Changes to the rules for informing tenants if their landlord is due to attend a court repossession hearing have already come into effect. Tenants will now get up to seven weeks notice of a hearing, up from the previous two week period.
Notes
Consultation on the above new proposals will close on 31 July 2009.
Julie Rugg and David Rhodes from the Centre of Housing Policy at the University of York were commissioned by the Government to examine the problems tenants and landlords face in the Private Rented Sector. Their findings were published in October 2008.
A new code of conduct and complaints system has been launched by the British Property Federation (BPF), alongside a free downloadable tenancy agreement form.
The complaints system will offer independent redress to tenants on all aspects of their tenancy - the first time that landlords have willingly signed up to any such measure and represents a major step in helping to ensure that tenants have a free and fair means of resolving complaints.
The BPF Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement has been endorsed by the Plain English Campaign and sets a new benchmark of clarity in explaining the rights and responsibilities of landlord and tenant in every day language, rather than legal speak.
Both initiatives come as the Government considers a positive future for the private rented sector, as set out in its Rugg Review and in anticipation of a Housing Green Paper later this year. It also comes as the Homes and Communities Agency and Mayor of London consider how best to support an expansion of institutional investment in the sector.
The initiatives are not only meant to help tenants, but landlords. The interactive web-based agreement, for example, can be accessed by any landlord free of charge.
