10
Jun
Landlord regulation proposals scrapped
From www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 10 June
2010:
Landlords and letting agents will not be
subject to greater regulation because this would introduce too much
additional red tape, the government said today. Speaking in
parliament, housing minister Grant Shapps said he was rejecting the
regulations proposed by the previous government following
recommendations from the Rugg Review, a report into the private
rented sector. These included the establishment of a national
register of landlords, regulation of letting and managing agents,
and compulsory written tenancy agreements.
Shapps said: "With the vast majority of England's 3 million
private tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied
that the current system strikes the right balance between the
rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. "So today I
make a promise to good landlords across the country: the government
has no plans to create any burdensome red tape and bureaucracy, so
you are able to continue providing a service to your tenants."
Instead, Shapps said he expects councils to use the range of
powers available to them to tackle "rogue landlords". These include
requiring landlords to take action to rectify hazards in their
property; where landlords resist, the ability to make and charge
for improvements and to prohibit use of the affected parts of the
property; and discretionary licensing powers to tackle areas
blighted by poorly managed privately rented stock. Earlier this
week, in his first speech since becoming housing minister, Shapps
said that aspiring homeowners would be at the heart of the
government's housing strategy.
"I don't agree with my predecessors that reducing homeownership
might be a good thing," he told a room of housing industry
representatives on Tuesday. "Most people still want to own their
own homes and I want people to know that this government will
support them in that."
The Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) said it was
"extremely disappointed" with today's announcement.
Operations manager, Ian Potter, said: "This move risks seriously
hampering the improvement of standards in the private rented
sector, the sector's reputation, and the fundamental role it plays
in the wider housing market, as well as failing to protect the
consumer who has nowhere to go when there is service failure or
fraud.
"A minimum requirement must surely be consumer redress and
protection of all funds taken from the public, not just tenants
deposits." He added: "Currently, any person or organisation can
become a letting agent. Until that is changed via national
regulation, unprofessional, unqualified and unethical operators
will continue to exist to the detriment and expense of consumers
and the market as a whole."
The government also confirmed that the annual rental threshold
for assured and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs), which cover the
majority of rental agreements in the country, will rise from
£25,000 to £100,000. At present, anyone paying rent of
more than just over £2,000 a month cannot have their rental
agreement covered by an assured shorthold tenancy, giving them less
protection. Only deposits paid under AST agreements are protected
by one of the tenancy deposit protection schemes. The change will
come into effect on 1 October.
There are 1 million landlords in England, nearly three-quarters of
which are individuals who may be renting a single room out,
according to government figures.