Why it is time for the Government to properly regulate the private rented sector - Ben Cooper

And what renters in Yorkshire actually get for their money leaves a lot to be desired, with 40 per cent of properties being ‘non-decent’ or in a state of disrepair. This will have a negative effect on people’s health, wellbeing and quality of life.

For many renters, expensive and insecure housing traps them in poverty. How can people focus on their work or care for their loved ones under such circumstances?

Safe and secure homes are the foundation of a good life in every city, town and village. We need to drive up standards in the private rented sector, and ensuring affordable social housing is an easily accessible alternative.

The current government has made only limited progress, with their Renters Reform Bill. The legislation will give private renters some security in their home. No longer will landlords be able to evict tenants for no reason at all. Housing campaigners have argued that this ‘no fault’ eviction process is why so many homes in the private rented sector are ‘non-decent’. Would you complain about leaky windows or dodgy wiring, if it risked losing the roof over your family’s head? Under this Bill, there will be specific, limited grounds for eviction only.

But the government could go further to drive up standards and strengthen renter protections. This week, the Fabian Society’s Commission on Poverty and Regional Inequality launched its final report. We set out deliverable policies that would raise living standards in every part of England, including further reforms needed in the private rented sector.

First, the notice period for evictions should be doubled – from eight weeks to 16 – giving families more time to find an alternative place to live. There should also be a permanent ban on winter evictions, as many other European countries have.

Second, it should be harder for landlords to use the specific grounds for eviction, contained within the Renters Reform Bill. For example, landlords should be prevented from being able to evict their tenants during the first year of a tenancy, at least, if the landlord’s only reason for doing so is to sell the property, move into it themselves, or allow their family to occupy it.

Third, landlords should be required to make a ‘relocation payment’ if they force their tenants to move out. These payments would help families cover the substantial costs of moving – estimated to be around £1,700. These payments should apply, say, if the landlord sought to sell or move their family into the property. But it could also apply if the landlord sought to raise rents by a percentage that the government judges to be unreasonable, and tenants decided not to pay the new rate. This would deter landlords from hiking up rents to force tenants out.

These new reforms are substantial and necessary, but they may not be popular with some landlords. Indeed, in response to the current Renters Reform Bill, some threatened to sell their properties. For a region so dependent on the private rented sector, the loss of properties could be damaging.

However, these properties don’t just disappear, and we should see landlords selling up as an opportunity to improve people’s lives and their financial security. Effectively, the government should call landlords’ bluff and properly regulate the private rented sector. If landlords do sell up, national government, local councils and social housing providers should be ready with the powers and the money to buy these homes.

That’s why there should be a locally-led scheme to purchase private rented properties across England and turn them into social housing. The Fabian Society estimates that, over a decade, half a million properties could be bought by councils and housing associations. The focus should be on empty, non-decent, or energy inefficient houses that can be turned into high-quality, secure and affordable homes.

While we also need to build more homes across Yorkshire, buying up existing properties will provide quicker respite to many of the 150,000 families trapped in unsuitable accommodation, and waiting for social housing. Ask most people what they want from life, and they’ll mention a safe and secure home for themselves and their family. Right now, it is a faraway dream for thousands of people. But by regulating the private rented sector properly, and delivering more social housing, we can turn that dream into a reality.

Ben Cooper is senior researcher at the Fabian Society.