Industry ‘in limbo’ after ‘half-baked reforms’ says inventory chief

The property sector has been left in limbo with “half-baked” changes after the Renters (Reform) Bill passed another stage in Parliament, according to a sector leader.

Uncertainty over Government plans for the PRS means the industry is in a state of confusion, according to one boss.

Shake-up

Daniel Evans, chair of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) (main picture), said there were not enough available homes to satisfy hard-pressed tenants, and landlords were holding fire on investment because of the lack of clarity over a Government vision for the PRS

It is five months since the bill – said to be the most radical shake-up of the PRS in a generation – was introduced in Parliament, and it received a second reading this week.

Limbo

The Government paused its long-promised scrapping of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions until after improvements are made to the way courts process possession cases.

Evans says the entire sector and all those who supply it have been left in limbo.

As the bill stands currently it’s like a half-baked cake.”

“While it is encouraging that the Government has recognised that the court system needs to be upgraded and the current waiting time for hearings massively reduced, there is no indication of how long this will take or exactly how it will be achieved,” he says.

“But there is still the firm intention that, in the end, Section 21 will be scrapped.

“As the bill stands currently it’s like a half-baked cake.”

Common sense

Meanwhile, Isobel Thomson, CEO at rental accreditation scheme Safeagent, says: “Safeagent supports the common sense decision by the Government not to proceed with the abolition of Section 21 “until changes to the justice system are made”.

‘God help us!’ Property industry reacts to latest PRS changes