Government needs to avoid breakdown of trust

The Government urgently needs to provide tenants with better information on their rights and responsibilities if it is to avoid a breakdown of trust between renters and their landlords, the National Landlords Association warns.

New research, commissioned by the NLA, found that over three quarters (79%) of tenants need better information about what they should expect from their landlords or agents.

Worryingly, the NLA also found that more than two thirds (67%) of tenants were not aware of the Government’s How To Rent guide that is designed to help them understand their rights and responsibilities. The guide provides tenants with key information on what to look out for before renting, living in a rented home, what happens at the end of a tenancy, and what to do if things go wrong.

Most tenants have a good relationship with their landlords. In the survey, 68% of tenants said they never had any cause to complain to their landlord. A further 12% said that when they had complained, the problem was solved to their satisfaction. But the NLA is concerned that tenants’ failure to fulfil their responsibilities will undermine their relationship with landlords.

Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, said: “It is alarming that so few tenants seem to know about the Government’s flagship guide on their rights and responsibilities. It’s clear that compelling landlords to give tenants copies of the How to Rent Guide has made little impact.  Unless the Government tackles this problem quickly, there is a danger that there will be a breakdown of trust between landlords and tenants at a time when this relationship is already coming under strain because of over-regulation in the PRS.”

*NLA Tenant Survey Feb 2019, fieldwork conducted by Dynata (885 respondents)