The Housing Committee published its Housing conditions in the Private Rented Sector report, welcoming plans to raise standards over the next decade but saying more needed to be done.
It commended the decision to apply the Decent Homes Standards to the PRS but said that with a 2035 deadline, some landlords would wait just before implementation to act. The committee acknowledged that the deadline gave landlords time to improve the quality of homes, but raised concerns that some tenants would be left waiting.
“The government should establish incentives to encourage landlords to upgrade their homes sooner,” the report said.
MPs said they were disappointed at the lack of a time frame for Awaab’s Law to be introduced, saying “the government should begin rolling out Awaab’s Law in the private rented sector this year to ensure that these legal protections are fully in place across the private rented sector by the end of 2028/29”.
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Ensuring the enforcement of rules
MPs also recommended that the government ensure the fees landlords pay to register on the Private Rented Sector Database were enough to fund a “substantial increase in local authority capacity”. It said the income should provide an annual ring-fenced amount for local authorities to fund regulatory activities.
It said the government could “be more ambitious on the role this database can play”, as it could serve as a “useful mechanism to drive up standards”, particularly as it would deter landlords from giving false information.
Further, the committee said local authorities should take enforcement action against breaches of the Decent Homes Standards, not just Criterion A, which requires homes to be free of most dangerous hazards.
It also expressed concern around the effectiveness of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) coming into effect in 2030, as well as the public’s confidence in it, saying this would be “undermined if local authorities are not adequately resourced to enforce it”.
Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee, said: “The government’s reforms to renters’ rights are welcome and can make an important contribution to improving housing conditions for tenants, helping people to live in safe and secure homes where they are treated fairly by their landlords.
“However, more needs to be done to ensure that the new tenants’ rights are enforceable and that landlords play by the rules. Stronger and more proactive regulation and enforcement of standards by local authorities is needed to improve conditions for tenants. The government needs to play its part by ensuring councils have the resources to do this job effectively and that the upcoming Private Rented Sector Database gives tenants the tools they need to check that their home is suitable and safe.
“Far too many private renters are living in homes that are substandard. Poor conditions in the rented sector are ultimately a symptom of the nation’s wider housing crisis, especially the lack of social and affordable housing. The government needs to come forward with the long-term housing strategy and set out a credible plan to address the drivers of poor housing conditions.”
