News

As the General Election approaches, all three parties have now revealed their manifestos. safeagent’s Isobel Thomson responds to their plans for the Private Rented Sector.

“Any party coming in needs to take stock of the considerable amount of legislation which has already been introduced over the last few years. The legislation is there, now it’s about proper, effective enforcement. We want to see greater emphasis on prosecuting landlords and agents who continue flout the law. Only by driving out the criminal element with proper regulation and enforcement that has teeth, will consumers have confidence and security when they rent a home.”

“Everyone wants a Private Rented Sector that works for all. It has been concerning that some of the measures in the manifestos appear to encourage an unnecessarily adversarial approach by tenants against landlords

“The parties all pledge longer tenancies and to abolish ‘no fault evictions’, however, plans to remove Section 21 without a new workable system in place could see even more landlords exit the market, at a time when we desperately need them to be operating in the sector.

“The majority of tenancies in the PRS already proceed without issue, and in most cases, landlords and agents report that it is the tenant’s choice to end a tenancy. In fact, MHCLG data shows that only 7% of tenancies end in eviction, while three quarters of landlords and agents are willing to offer longer tenancies of more than 12 months.”

Read the manifestos in full: Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrats