Landlords should be stopped from selling their homes and evicting their tenants during the first three years of a tenancy, an influential think tank has recommended.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which famously helped champion the idea of elected mayors, says the private rented sector is too insecure.
To balance the market, it has recommended that the government performs radical surgery on the private rented market including banning ‘no fault’ evictions and banning letting agents from rejecting Universal Credit applicants as tenants.
Its own research published alongside the report also reveals that 53% of those it polled said the sector was either ‘unfair’ or ‘very unfair’ to tenants.
Landlord register
The IPPR’s other recommendations include allowing tenants on benefits to pay the housing element of their Universal Credit direct to their landlord, setting up of a national landlord register and an annual compulsory ‘MOT’ for all privately rented homes.
Landlords should also be forced to allow tenants to decorate their homes without losing their deposit, and that tenants should have a right to keep pets.
Several of the IPPR report’s recommendations have already come to pass. This includes the introduction of a specialist housing court and an industry wide redress service for housing, both of which were announced last week.
“We propose measures which will seek to offer a new deal for tenants and landlords, and which will offer relief to the hardships faced by many households, including those in poverty, through a reformed private renting sector that works well for all,” the report says.
Another totally stupid idea. What will mortgage companies say about that? what if a landlord becomes ill and needs to sell!, what if they need the money for any reason, university fees, who knows.
Why is it right that the landlord’s family choices should be restricted for the sake of a tenant?
This will take another 25% of PRS houses out of the market, all of mine included for more liquid investments. 3 years, what a joke.
My stock answer to all these surveys undertaken by or on behalf of the commies is – “try it yourselves, test your ideas for 5 years, let your directors and staff act as landlords using your ideas and then we can discuss” I suspect however that the trial would not last the 5 years