Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 27
Fifth Report - Reforming the Private Rented Sector
Published 9 Feb 2023
Paragraph 138
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)
Currently, letting agents are required to belong to one of two government-approved ombudsman schemes, the Property Redress Scheme or the Property Ombudsman, but membership for landlords is voluntary. The White Paper proposes the introduction of an ombudsman for all private landlords, regardless of whether they use an agent. The Government says a single scheme will mean a streamlined service for tenants and landlords and avoid the confusion and perverse incentives resulting from multiple schemes. On this basis, we do not understand why the Government is not proposing to replace the existing letting agent schemes with a single ombudsman covering all letting agents and landlords. A single ombudsman for the entire sector is the best way of avoiding the confusion the Government says it wants to avoid. We recommend that the Government introduce a single ombudsman for the whole of the private rented sector and that mediation be firmly embedded within its remit.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Fifth Report - Reforming the Private Rented Sector (HC 624), paragraph 138, 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".