Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 2
Fifth Report - Reforming the Private Rented Sector
Published 9 Feb 2023
Paragraph 23
Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Reforming the Private Rented Sector All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The one exception is the general student PRS market. The abolition of fixed-term contracts could make letting to students considerably less attractive to private landlords and so ultimately push up rents or reduce the availability of student rental properties, at a time when the market in many university towns and cities is already very tight. The exemption for purpose-built accommodation will only make the situation worse by potentially forcing students into that side of the market, which is already more expensive and less appropriate for students beyond the first year of study. We recognise, however, that some landlords might seek to abuse the exemption by letting to non-students and thereby circumventing the tenancy reforms. The Government should retain fixed-term tenancies in the entire student housing sector but require all landlords letting to students to sign up to one of the existing government-approved codes of conduct. In the longer term, the Government should consider replacing the existing codes with a single national code. It should also consider ways of preventing or deterring landlords from abusing the exemption, including by introducing financial penalties for those who do not let student accommodation primarily to non-students.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Fifth Report - Reforming the Private Rented Sector (HC 624), paragraph 23, 9 February 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 20 October 2023 (deadline 9 April 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes "the thrust of the report" and accepts or reflects the Committee's aims in several areas, but declines a number of recommendations, including on student tenancies, a Housing Court and rent review clauses.
- On antisocial behaviour, it "fully agree[s] with the intent" of the recommendation but proposes a different approach: it will lower the threshold for Ground 14 and maintain judicial discretion instead of making the ground mandatory.
- On courts, it says "We do not agree that introducing a Housing Court is the best way", and it "would not be practical" to prioritise rent arrears cases. It will not proceed with the abolition of section 21 "until reforms to the justice system are in place".
- It does not support retaining fixed terms for students, saying it "would unfairly lock students into contracts". It will instead introduce a new ground for possession to facilitate the yearly cycle of student tenancies.
- On enforcement funding, it will ensure that "where necessary" new costs to local authorities "are fully funded", in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine. It has "no current plans to criminalise non-payment of a civil penalty".