‘No fault’ Section 21 evictions are to be scrapped and the number of “non-decent” rented homes are to be reduced by half, as part of measures designed to ‘level up’ the UK.
All properties in the private rented sector will have to meet a Decent Homes Standard, while renters will have a secure path to ownership, according to one 12 ‘missions’ today unveiled by levelling up secretary Michael Gove.
There will also be a consultation on introducing a landlords register, and further measures including fines and bans will be handed out to rogue landlords.
This will help stop renters living in “terrible conditions”, the government said.
At the same time, a £1.5bn Levelling Up Home Building Fund is to be launched which will provide loans to SMEs, and support wider regeneration.
Homes England is to have the added function of regenerating towns and cities, with Wolverhampton and Sheffield earmarked as the first of 20 urban areas for transformation projects, similar to that of King’s Cross in London.
A large chunk of £1.8bn of brownfield funding is to be funnelled towards the North and Midlands, as the ‘80/20’ rule is scrapped because it currently leads to 80 per cent of funding for housing supply directed to London and the South East, according to the government.
Metro mayors will be allocated £120m of the funding, as the government shifts power from Whitehall to local leader to create more London style powers.
The 12 missions will be given status in law in a Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
The objectives also include growth of pay, employment, and productivity across the UK by 2030, and a 40 per cent increase in research and development investment outside the South East.
Local public transport systems will become closer to London standards and a large majority of the country is to gain access to 5G broadband under the plans.
Other missions pledge to eliminate illiteracy and innumeracy in primary school leavers, and narrow gross disparities in healthy life expectancy.
Gove said: “The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies. Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.“Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.“This will not be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go.”
Prime minister Boris Johnson added: “From day one, the defining mission of this government has been to level up this country, to break the link between geography and destiny so that no matter where you live you have access to the same opportunities.”
