Labour promises ‘pro-tenant’ renting charter during first 100 days of power
Shadow housing minister Lisa Nandy reveals her plans for letting agents, landlords and tenants during annual conference.
Labour’s shadow housing minister has revealed the party’s plans for the private rented sector should it win the next election in 2024.
Lisa Nandy told the party’s annual conference in Blackpool yesterday that she would create a Renters’ Charter, giving tenants more rights and safer homes, in the first 100 days of a Labour government.
“For private renters we will tilt the balance of power back to you through a powerful new renters’ charter and a new decent homes standard – written into law,” she told delegates.
In a rallying cry to the party faithful, Nandy also said Labour would make it her priority to tackle the housing crisis.
“The Tories have turned housing into a racket, incentivising speculation and profiteering, while millions languish in cold damp homes.”
Nandy’s housing charter is expected to include an end to automatic evictions for rent arrears and no-fault evictions, the right for renters to have pets, to make reasonable alterations to a property, and introduce a four-month notice period for landlords.
It would also create a national register of landlords, a legally binding decent homes standard, and the potential for schemes to make tenancy deposits more portable.
Nandy added that it would focus unapologetically on providing more council housing and that Labour would be the first government in a generation to restore social housing to the second largest form of housing.
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle (pictured) says he’s fed up with politicians demonising landlords and that ending automatic repossessions for rent arrears would send a dangerous signal that paying rent was somehow an ‘optional extra’.
“Labour should be focused instead on preventing rent arrears in the first place by unfreezing housing benefit rates and addressing the supply crisis in the private rented sector which is the biggest driver of rents,” he adds.
Under the Estate Agency Act 1979 – it is unlawful for an agent to discriminate – this would in its scope cover discriminating against a landlord buyer as oppossed to a labour voter (I mean other type of buyer). So is Mr Starmer aware he is actually proposing to ask agents break the law. You could not make this up – given his day job.
‘3 Orders prohibiting unfit persons from doing estate agency work
(1)The power of the Director General of Fair Trading (in this Act referred to as ” the Director “) to make an order under this section with respect to any person shall not be exercisable unless the Director is satisfied that that person—
(b) has committed discrimination in the course of estate agency work.’
Another crazy knee jerk attempt at winning votes no matter what the cost. I have been a landlord for 15 years, i have a mix of family and HMO properties. I have great relationships with past and current tenants – except for those that believed they could live on the backs of other tenants in an HMO. I pride myself that I have provided a real arm of mentorship, friendship and provision of good housing/rooms to those that were in desperate need when we met.
I am now 62 and find all the negative publicity aimed at landlords, and the belief that we are evil geniuses skimming from society incredibly hard to live with. I started my life as a landlord due to crippling arthritis, and I had to leave my work, which I loved. I was determined not to live off the state, stay out of a wheelchair as long as I possibly could, whilst providing decent and affordable accommodation to those in need.
Unfortunately over the last 15 years my arthritis has now somewhat overtaken me and I find myself wanting to gift my properties to my two children. They don’t want them! They said there was no way they would have the patience or control to manage the properties, especially the way the Government are obviously trying to kill property investment. They believe it to be far too much work and worry for a relatively small return on investment – both in terms of finance, worry and effort.
I have decided to sell the portfolio, something I really did not want to do as this will potentially put 76 people out of their homes – many having been with me since the beginning. Problem is I can not seem to sell them as rental properties, people just don’t want the hassle of managing a portfolio when better investments can be made with their funds! I worry so much for my tenants, as I say, they are good and understand why I have to sell up – if only the Government (or shadow Government) understood this.
I believe this latest ‘vote winner’ will really turn round and bite labour on the ass, reducing rental availability, pushing up rents so landlords can cover themselves to enable them to pay their costs and possibly drive a new landlord entering the business to work underground and work outside the crazy laws that have been introduced/being planned.
It’s stupidity at its easiest to understand – the poor future tenants – they do not have a chance with Governments ‘protecting’ them like this.
If this is what happens, whatever Government is in power, they better have an exceptional national building program in place to provide low cost social houses in a very short time frame – and where’s that money coming from?
Sadly both parties are as bad as each other they should come and work in my office where I have a constant stream of tenants coming in to search for none existent rental properties. The cause of course being that landlords are sick to the back teeth of constantly being hammered and are selling up. Every agent I speak with seems to have more selling than buying and the rental pool is drying up. We need rental properties for many reasons and if we dont have them then it hampers job mobility. The government has no money and we need houses so give the landlords a decent platform and they will go back into the market the more properties available the rents will be controlled by supply and demand. Nandy in her comments has made sure that yet more landlords will sell. We really do have 650 people in parliament who are collectively clueless about life these days.
Can we ask Nandy what she is doing for the good tenants that have zero problems?
Cause u can be sure all those of mine, many been with me over 20 years paying £500pm when surrounding rents are £850pm, will be increased to keep up with your attacks.
I wonder if Nandy is a landlord and talking from experience of having rental arrears on her but to let investment?? I suspect not as all her charter is based on one way traffic and somehow tenants are getting an absolute raw deal. Maybe that’s why so many landlords are leaving the PRS as they anticipate Nancy’s and Labours Charter plan 😩😩😩 none of these parties are getting a grip with needs and wants of both the tenant and landlords and are just kicking the sector about for points rather than action.