Just a reminder to everyone in the Rental Industry that the Communities and Local Government Select Committee is currently conducting an enquiry into the private rented sector. Submissions have been invited from any interested party dealing with the private rented sector. Submissions should be emailed to clgev@parliament.uk by 17th January 2012.
In particular submissions are being sought in connection with possible rent control and also regulation of the sector. Full details can be found here.
(01420) 565310
(01420) 562782
One Comment
I personally feel that regulation in the sector would be beneficial; the minimum standards to which proposed legislation would have landlords adhere are practiced by most good landlords, and the reputation of the sector as a whole is tarnished by those who flout good practice. Hence, only ‘rogue’ or poor landlords will be forced to change, or be forced out of the sector.
Boris Johnson appears to be ‘pioneering’ regulation with his London Rent Standard, but I can’t help feel that it’s superfluous and counter-intuitive.
Firstly, the LRS will be voluntary. As good landlords already follow decent practice and rogue landlords do not, the notion that a voluntary scheme will be observed universally is, at best, over-optimistic.
Secondly, many of the core measures exist in some other form. Deposit protection is mandatory in current legislation, transparency of RLA fees is a requirement for membership of regulatory bodies in that part of the sector… even training and development for landlords is a part of the service offered by accreditation schemes, and as discussed, participation will be voluntary.
London is perhaps the most saturated market in the country, and the area where regulation would perhaps be most beneficial – not just for tenants. Further incentives for private landlords to house DSS tenants (for which the PRS is increasingly used) and measures to have their interests protected would be welcomed by landlords, and any minimum standards which enhance the reputation of the sector as a whole would be welcomed universally.
The LRS is a bit of a damp squib, though. The only transparency on offer is that of Boris’s true intentions; to have wealthy people, possibly with little knowledge (or desire to gain knowledge) of the PRS, to continue investing therein.