Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Deferred
BSR's excessively long M4(2) consultation timeline delays implementation until spring 2025 at earliest.
Conclusion
The Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) timeline to run a full technical consultation process for six months, starting on an undecided date between May and July 2024, would make it unlikely that the M4(2) baseline policy could be implemented until spring 2025, at the earliest. This is an excessively long timeline considering the sector’s demand for certainty and the evidence that there is likely to be widespread consensus among responses. (Paragraph 28) 30 Disabled people in the housing sector
Government Response Summary
The government deflects from the recommendation concerning the excessively long timeline for the M4(2) technical consultation, instead focusing on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database being developed under the Renters’ Rights Bill to provide accessibility information for tenants.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
18. The government is delivering its manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, with our Renters’ Rights Bill introduced as a priority and making progress through Parliament. The Bill will improve security for tenants and drive up standards in the sector. It will create a Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance (giving good landlords confidence in their position), alongside providing better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement. It will also support local councils – helping them target enforcement activity where it is needed most. Landlords will need to be registered on the database in order to use most possession grounds. 19. The PRS Database will improve the information available to tenants before they enter tenancy agreements, supporting more informed rental experiences. The government recognises the significance to disabled renters of understanding the accessibility status of properties. 20. The PRS Database is not intended to be a property listing website, it is a tool tenants can use to confirm a property is registered and meets certain requirements. The department is currently considering what information will be recorded on the PRS Database and made available to the public and will outline this in regulations. We are working with a range of stakeholders to understand what information is essential for tenants, as well as the balance of burdens across different users. 21. Officials have met with Disability Rights UK, Inclusion London, Accessible PRS, Independent Age, and Age UK, and are considering their recommendations for recording accessibility information on the Database. LUHC Select Committee Report conclusion: We are surprised that the Department does not hold any data on the number of new builds completed to the M4(2) and M4(3) standards in England, especially given that local authorities are already required to provide data on the supply of new homes to central Government annually. The Department must require local authorities to report on the supply of new homes at [a] M4(2) standard and [b] M4(3) standard specifically in their annual data submission to the Department.