The new Renters’ Rights Act will do nothing to deal with rogue landlords who will continue to break the rules, Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly (main picture) has claimed.

Interviewed by the BBC’s Chief Presenter, Maryam Moshiri, Cleverly, who was once a landlord himself, told The Negotiator Conference on Friday that the Act will instead drive good landlords out of the private rented sector.

The Act introduces a new database of landlords and abolishes Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, which tenant campaigners argue is misused by rogue landlords.

The bad landlords will continue to be bad landlords.”

“The bad landlords will continue to be bad landlords,” Cleverly said.

“Vilifying the providers of private housing will not help the people they [the Government] are trying to help.”

Nonsense

But speaking later, Ben Beadle, CEO of the NRLA, rejected Cleverly’s points as he was a senior minister in the last Conservative Government, which almost passed similar legislation in the form of the Renters (Reform) Bill.

“It is nonsense and takes the sector for fools,” he said.

Cleverly went on to say the Government will get nowhere near its 1.5 million new homes target.

“It is like me saying I will have Brad Pitt’s body in Fight Club by Christmas,” he joked.

He said the construction industry was not geared up to build the number of homes Labour wanted.

We have to find a way to make it quicker.”

The property sales process needed to be become more automated, to speed up conveyancing, he said.

“We have to find a way to make it quicker,” he said.

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