Probe into the ‘consumer rights’ of renters launched

Probe into the ‘consumer rights’ of renters launched

0:02 AM, 1st March 2023, About A year ago 4

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revealed that it is to investigate the consumer rights of tenants and explore what can be done to help landlords and intermediaries to understand their obligations.

The organisation is also launching a market study into housebuilding amid concerns that housebuilders are not delivering the homes people need at sufficient scale or speed.

The CMA’s chief executive, Sarah Cardell, said: “We want to explore the experiences people have of the rental sector and whether there are issues here that the CMA can help with.

“We will of course be guided by the evidence, but if we find competition or consumer protection concerns, we are prepared to take the steps necessary to address them.”

Consumer enforcement work in the private rented sector

The CMA says that its consumer enforcement work in the private rented sector will focus on:

  • The end-to-end experience from a tenant’s perspective, including finding somewhere to live, renting a property and moving between homes
  • Identifying the consumer protection issues that may arise.

The project will also examine the relationship between tenants and landlords and the role of intermediaries, such as letting agents.

The organisation says there will now be targeted stakeholder engagement across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a report on its findings published in the summer.

The quality and cost of housing

The CMA also says that the quality and cost of housing is one of the biggest issues facing the country.

And, over the last few years, it has delivered change for leaseholders, with tens of thousands of homeowners receiving refunds after being overcharged unfair ground rents.

With that work nearly finished, it says it now look in detail at the housebuilding sector.

The CMA makes clear that if there are competition issues holding back housebuilding in Britain then it will need to find – but warns that introducing more competition alone won’t unlock a housebuilding boom.


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Comments

Steve Masters

11:47 AM, 1st March 2023, About A year ago

And will the CMA investigate the consumer rights of landlords and explore what can be done to help tenants understand their obligations?

Reluctant Landlord

21:53 PM, 1st March 2023, About A year ago

another bl$$dy organisation looking at the bleedin' obvious that will conclude with the same result we all know already, but that will have zero power to do anything about it to help anyone at all.

More bull****.

Jim

15:43 PM, 5th March 2023, About A year ago

The Daily Telegraph expand a bit further and states that the CMA will investigate the requirement by landlords to ask for a guarantor which they consider to be an onerous contract term. So they want to stop you being able to ask for a guarantor! They also state that somehow the CMA will monitor the condition of rental properties. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/28/looming-risk-landlords-investigation-launched-rental-market/

Old Mrs Landlord

11:24 AM, 25th August 2023, About 8 months ago

If this "onerous contract term" is outlawed just when it is most needed, i.e. when the AST is being replaced by rolling contracts which can only be terminated by the tenant or in a very limited set of circumstances by the landlord via the not-fit-for purpose court system, then the result will be even more landlords leaving the sector. My crystal ball is very clear.

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