Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Deferred
Paragraph: 39
Require landlords to include property accessibility information in the Private Rented Sector database.
Conclusion
The proposed new Property Portal presents a compelling opportunity to improve information about the accessibility of properties in the private rented sector. This would provide a clear benefit to disabled people. Once the Renters (Reform) Bill comes into force, the Secretary of State must use its provisions to require landlords to include information about the accessibility of their property/properties in their entries in the private rented sector database. This must include any specific accessibility features or adaptations that are already installed, in order to better support the housing needs of disabled people in the private rented sector.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government response reviews the suitability of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) upper limit and expects the review to conclude later in 2025, but does not address the recommendation to use the Renters (Reform) Bill to require landlords to include accessibility information in a new property portal.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
39
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
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.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗