Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 28
Fifth Report - Reforming the Private Rented Sector
Published 9 Feb 2023
Paragraph 143
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 Government says it will make it illegal for landlords to have blanket bans on letting to benefit recipients. If this is a commitment to preventing landlords from discriminating against benefit recipients, it is unrealistic. If it is a commitment to preventing landlords from stating explicitly that they will not consider letting to benefit recipients, it is unambitious. Landlords who do not want to let to benefit recipients will simply choose not to do so. The real issue is twofold: there are not enough homes for rent; and local housing allowance rates have not kept pace with the market in recent years. We call on the Government to explain in response to this report how it intends to prevent landlords from refusing to let to benefit recipients, and we again recommend that it uprate local housing allowance rates so that housing benefit better covers the cost of renting in the private rented sector.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Fifth Report - Reforming the Private Rented Sector (HC 624), paragraph 143, 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".