9:33 AM, 9th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago 38
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Angela Rayner claims the Labour government want to work with landlords, but blames Section 21 evictions for having a significant impact on homelessness.
In a meeting with the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Ms Rayner claims the government wants to support landlords in providing “safe and secure homes”.
The Housing Secretary repeated Labour’s government ambition to ban Section 21 evictions and introduce Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector.
In the Select Committee meeting, Ms Rayner says she was ‘hesitant’ to put a timeline on when the government wants to end homelessness but claims Section 21 evictions are a contributing factor.
Ms Rayner said: “I think it’s really challenging to set out a timeline to end homelessness, given the challenges we face with the inheritance from the Conservatives and the current projections for homelessness.
“One of the biggest issues we have to address is Section 21 no-fault evictions, which are having a significant impact on homelessness.”
However, Ms Rayner did not provide evidence to support this claim.
The English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report for 2021-2022 reveals the majority of renters (77%) ended their last tenancy because they wanted to move NOT because of eviction.
Ms Rayner also told the Select Committee meeting that the government wants to work with landlords to improve housing standards.
The Housing Secretary criticised a small minority of landlords, blaming them for providing homes that were unsuitable for tenants. She said:
She said: “People are living in housing that is not good for their health, but they are too frightened to raise the alarm. This is not adequate.
“As soon as they raise concerns, they are served a Section 21 notice by the landlord, who then finds someone else willing to move in and accept the squalor they’re being put in.
“I must say, though, that not all landlords are like that. There are some incredibly decent landlords out there.
“The Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law that we are introducing are about making sure we can support people living in safe and secure housing, while acknowledging that there are significant numbers of people who are not just in temporary accommodation, but in housing that is not safe for them at the moment.
“We want to work with landlords to make sure they can bring their homes up to standards.
“This isn’t about landlords being bad; this is about acknowledging that we have a housing crisis, and it’s not just about building homes, but making sure the homes we have currently are fit for human habitation.”
Elsewhere during the meeting, Ms Rayner said the government is determined to meet the 1.5 million homes target set by the government for this Parliament.
The Housing Secretary also committed to leasehold reform this year.
She said: “We want to make sure we are moving at pace, but we also want to ensure there aren’t unintended consequences. There are gaps in the current legislation that could cause problems, such as the inclusion of flats.
“We want to bring forward legislation within this year.”
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “It is encouraging to hear that the UK Government intends to progress with leasehold reform and that they are committed to making common holding a default position for many.
“Propertymark welcomes Ms Rayner’s pledge to introduce the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in March and we look forward to working with them on meeting their ambitious target of constructing 1.5 million new homes.
“However, while the Housing Secretary is intent on scrapping Section 21, which she believes is the answer to ending homelessness, it is essential there is full clarity from the UK Government on how it intends to address issues which Propertymark has highlighted, such as the anticipated backlog it will cause within the courts system.”
You can watch a clip of Angela Rayner at the committee meeting here
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Jack Jennings
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Sign Up0:47 AM, 10th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago
When 'no reason given' evictions are replaced with a 'reason given' evictions we will all be able to see why tenants are evicted (eventually).
The only silver lining to this ill thought out move is that after a few years of potential pain (for landlords) we will have a much clearer picture of problem renters. They will never be housed again hopefully due to CCJ's becoming a more normal part of eviction.
Cause For Concern
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Sign Up20:50 PM, 10th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago
I can’t think of a single thing that either the Tories or Labour have done since the introduction of Assured Shorthold Tenancies in 1989 that has had a positive effect for the PRS.
Everything since then has been a gradual erosion of the landlords’ rights until now, that our rights are so threadbare, Raynor wants to remove what little is left and take us back to the era protected sitting tenants .
Thanks to Rayner’s promise to “end S21 from day one”, I gave all 25 of my tenants a S21 before the election whilst I still could and am now selling up. Letting residential property is no longer a business model for law abiding landlords. Only the criminal landlords will be able to flourish. Everyone else will be either ground into dust or have jumped ship.
David Houghton
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Sign Up21:02 PM, 10th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Cause For Concern at 10/01/2025 - 20:50
I can think of two. Housing act 1996 making assured short hold the default, ang housing act 2004 PT 1 removing councils ability to make it up as you go along approach to disrepair with no practical route of appeal. My local council has paid my tribunal costs a few times, till they learned to behave
Bernard Mealing
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Sign Up12:18 PM, 11th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago
Landlords blame evictions through none payments of rents.
Kevyn Jones
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Sign Up17:54 PM, 11th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago
It is not the fault of s21, it is simply supply and demand.
The housing stock cannot meet the demand of the number of people and families. Therefore the price of renting and buying goes up. The result of this is that children stay with parents longer than they want to, and families are overcrowded, having to live in cheaper and smaller properties.
If someone is not evicted under s21, the situation does not improve over all, as the person who would have moved in, if the person had been evicted has nowhere to live.
The way to improve things, is to build more homes, and give incentives for people to downsize. For example, an elderly woman whose children have moved out and husbad has died, could leave her fourbedroom house and move to a one bedroom flat. But because of stamp duty, the adverse Inheritance Tax position and the hassle of moving, she does not do so.
Ironically, it was the Labour party of Harold Wilson through the Betterment Levy, who actually penalised down sizing, making the housing situation worse..
Northernpleb
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Sign Up18:53 PM, 11th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago
The Housing Problem is the result of Government Policies.
Beaver
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Sign Up15:36 PM, 13th January 2025, About A week ago
Reply to the comment left by Northernpleb at 11/01/2025 - 18:53
The Housing Problem is indeed the result of government policies. Angela Rayner may have woken up to at least one of the problems if this is correct:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1999764/angela-rayner-battles-left-wing-mps
She has been reported as having said: "Rent controls restrict housing supply, which does not help anyone." She is also reported as opposing moves to ban rent increases above the rate of inflation.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook is reported as giving the following comment in respect of rent controls: "The Government believe that would impact negatively on tenants as well as landlords, as a result of reduced supply, discouraged investment and declining property sales."
Beaver
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Sign Up15:45 PM, 13th January 2025, About A week ago
Reply to the comment left by Kevyn Jones at 11/01/2025 - 17:54I think that you are correct that the cost of moving, principally stamp-duty, is a significant disincentive against downsizing. But that is not the only cost or consideration. In terms of costs you have also got the moving costs, costs of redecorating, changing furniture and making whatever other changes you need to make in order to be able to live comfortably.
Just because there is only one person it does not follow that one person is better off in a one-person flat. Extra rooms allow for visiting children or grandchildren, and also live-in carers where they are required. I do not know if you have ever had to arrange care for an elderly person but one of the options is to arrange live-in care (usually volunteers who are provided accommodation as part of a deal to provide company and assistance).
A one-bedroom flat or apartment in sheltered accommodation can sometimes provide physical security but it does not solve all the other problems. Older people should not be pressurised into down-sizing just because their children have flown the nest. It would make far more sense to make the rent-a-room scheme more attractive by increasing the amount of tax-free income that may be earned under the scheme, allowing the income to be offset against care-costs or both. It would also make more sense to allow members from more than one family to be housed under the rent-a-room scheme.