Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 11
11
It will take time to meet social housing need.
Recommendation
It will take time to meet social housing need. In the short-term, we support the Government’s intention to improve the experience of tenants in the private rented sector, including on security of tenure, quality of housing, and affordability. We encourage the Government to bring forward legislative proposals as soon as possible. While councils need to be better at enforcing standards, the Government needs to provide more resources for councils to ensure they have the capacity to enforce the law. In the longer-term, the Government should ensure there is sufficient social housing for those that require it. (Paragraph 75) 54 Building more social housing
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government is committed to introducing a package of reforms to enhance renters’ security and improve protections for short-term tenants. This includes repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to abolish so-called ‘no fault’ evictions. However, providing tenants with greater security of tenure needs to be balanced with an assurance that landlords are able to recover their properties where they have valid reasons to do so. This is vital to ensuring the future supply of good quality housing in the private rented sector. We will bring forward the package of reforms as a priority once the urgencies of responding to the pandemic have passed to deliver a better deal for renters and a fairer and more effective rental market. We are determined to ensure that local authorities can effectively enforce standards in rented properties. Local authorities have been given a wide range of powers to enforce standards in rented properties including civil penalties of up to £30,000 per offence as an alternative to prosecution and banning orders for landlords who persistently fail to uphold their legal responsibilities. We have also extended rent repayment orders which require a landlord to repay a specified amount of rent to a tenant or local authority in cases where they have failed to comply with the law. Local authorities keep the money received through civil penalties and rent repayment orders to fund future enforcement. In addition, Government is proceeding with a review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which will make the system easier to understand for landlords and tenants, correct the disconnect with other legislative standards and facilitate the effective enforcement of housing standards by local authorities. We have also helped local authorities to build capacity by consolidating and refreshing enforcement guidance, as well as through a national programme of training, which is available online. Furthermore, since 2019, the Government has awarded £6.7million of grant funding helping over 180 local authorities boost their enforcement work and to support innovation. These significant interventions ensure that local authorities can successfully enforce standards in the rented properties.