Recommendations & Conclusions
7 items
5
Recommendation
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
The Department lacks good enough data to understand the nature and extent of problems renters face. The Department lacks sufficient data on the challenges facing landlords, tenants, and local authorities within the sector. For example, it lacks robust data on complaints, overcrowding, harassment and evictions, and has a limited understanding …
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The Department lacks good enough data to understand the nature and extent of problems renters face. The Department lacks sufficient data on the challenges facing landlords, tenants, and local authorities within the sector. For example, it lacks robust data on complaints, overcrowding, harassment and evictions, and has a limited understanding of who is vulnerable and how this impacts their renting experience. Many issues facing both tenants and landlords are closely related to other policy areas (such as housing benefits, tax laws, and court systems), and data must be shared across government departments to improve understanding and inform decision-making. The Department also lacks data to evaluate the impact of recent legislative changes on the overall operation of the market, and so is unable Regulation of private renting 7 to benchmark success. For example, in 2015 the Department introduced changes in the Deregulation Act to prevent retaliatory eviction of tenants who raise complaints. However, it does not have data on landlords’ reasons for evicting tenants, meaning it does not know how effective the changes have been. Recommendation: The Department should develop a coherent data strategy to identify and collect the data it needs to: • understand the problems renters are facing; and • evaluate the impact of legislative changes. Once complete, this strategy should be shared with this Committee and the Levelling up, Housing and Communities Committee.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions, and are working to further develop its approach to data to support its renters reform program.
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
To ensure that regulation and other forms of support are effective in protecting renters, the Department needs good data and insight into their experiences and the challenges they face. The Department told us that as part of its upcoming White Paper proposals, it is committed to understanding tenants’ perspectives and …
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To ensure that regulation and other forms of support are effective in protecting renters, the Department needs good data and insight into their experiences and the challenges they face. The Department told us that as part of its upcoming White Paper proposals, it is committed to understanding tenants’ perspectives and supporting vulnerable tenants through legislative changes, including by working alongside key stakeholders.46
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions.
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HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
However, the Department acknowledged gaps and limitations in its current data, and it is reliant on tenant representatives such as Shelter and Citizens Advice to understand tenant experiences.47 For example, it estimates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, over-crowding peaked at 15% of rented homes, double what it was in 2019–20. …
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However, the Department acknowledged gaps and limitations in its current data, and it is reliant on tenant representatives such as Shelter and Citizens Advice to understand tenant experiences.47 For example, it estimates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, over-crowding peaked at 15% of rented homes, double what it was in 2019–20. However, it does not have up-to-date data on how this is changing and does not know whether it will be a long-term effect.48 While the Department intends to improve its data, it has not identified what additional data sources it could use to monitor progress or measure the success of its planned reforms beyond those it can already access.49 The Department also lacks sufficient data on who may be vulnerable in the private rented sector and why, which makes it difficult to target interventions towards those who need the most protection.50
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions.
Read full response →
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
Data gaps also mean the Department does not collect the information it needs to evaluate the impact of recent legislative changes. For example, in 2015 it introduced changes in the Deregulation Act to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction after raising complaints with their local authority.51 However, we heard from tenant …
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Data gaps also mean the Department does not collect the information it needs to evaluate the impact of recent legislative changes. For example, in 2015 it introduced changes in the Deregulation Act to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction after raising complaints with their local authority.51 However, we heard from tenant representative bodies that these changes fails to protect tenants unless a specific enforcement tool is used, leaving many vulnerable to eviction in the wake of a complaint.52 The Department does not collect data on the reasons for evictions, the numbers of improvement notices served by local authorities or the number of complaints that lead to eviction, and is therefore unable to evaluate how effective the legislative change has been in practice.53
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions.
Read full response →
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
The Department has made some improvements to the private rented sector in the past ten years. This includes banning unnecessary charges through the Tenant Fees Act 46 Q 90 47 Qq 91, 93 48 Q 65 49 Qq 92, 93; C&AG’s Report, para 2.14 50 C&AG’s Report, para 19 51 …
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The Department has made some improvements to the private rented sector in the past ten years. This includes banning unnecessary charges through the Tenant Fees Act 46 Q 90 47 Qq 91, 93 48 Q 65 49 Qq 92, 93; C&AG’s Report, para 2.14 50 C&AG’s Report, para 19 51 C&AG’s Report, para 2.14 52 Qq 1,3,9 53 C&AG’s Report, para 2.14 54 C&AG’s Report, para 2.17 55 Qq 94–98 14 Regulation of private renting and deposit protection schemes, and introducing a mandatory redress scheme for letting agency work.56 However, its interventions have been piecemeal and created a complex and fragmented system of regulation. Due to the Department’s lack of robust data, it does not have a good understanding of the impact of these changes on both landlords and tenants.57
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Government response AI summary
The government recognizes the improvements made to the private rented sector in the past ten years, including banning unnecessary charges through the Tenant Fees Act and deposit protection schemes.
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HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
The Department highlighted that its recent work has rightly focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which it introduced protections through a temporary restriction on eviction proceedings. The Department told us it continues to monitor the situation as restrictions are lifted. Landlords have also suffered during the pandemic, for …
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The Department highlighted that its recent work has rightly focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which it introduced protections through a temporary restriction on eviction proceedings. The Department told us it continues to monitor the situation as restrictions are lifted. Landlords have also suffered during the pandemic, for example through a loss in rent payments. The Department has limited insight into these issues, or what the knock-on consequences may mean for the affordability or supply of rented homes within the sector if landlords exit the market or increase rents.58
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Government response AI summary
The government recognises the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and pressures faced by both landlords and tenants.
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HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of priv…
Acknowledged
The Department told us it is now returning to the strategic reform agenda and intends to publish a White Paper later in 2022.59 It has highlighted specific issues it plans to address as part of its reforms, including security of tenure, enforcement, and redress.60 However, it has not set out …
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The Department told us it is now returning to the strategic reform agenda and intends to publish a White Paper later in 2022.59 It has highlighted specific issues it plans to address as part of its reforms, including security of tenure, enforcement, and redress.60 However, it has not set out its overall ambition for the sector, and does not have a grasp on the overall size or shape of the private rental market.61 The Department’s planned reforms provide an opportunity to make significant improvements to the sector. But it will not be able to take this opportunity without a full grasp of the challenges in the sector, an overarching strategy for how to address these challenges and a good understanding of the expected impacts of the reforms.62 56 Q 27 57 C&AG’s Report, para 2.11 58 Qq 26, 79 59 Qq 27, 104, 106 60 Q 27 61 Qq 104, 105, 106 62 Qq 72, 73; C&AG’s Report, para 2.11 Regulation of private renting 15
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Government response AI summary
The government recognizes the need for greater fairness in the system to allow renters to realize their right to a safe and secure home and published a white paper on 16 June 2022 setting out details of the planned reforms.
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HM Treasury