Labour Party Manifesto for ‘Private Renters’ 2017 released

Labour Party Manifesto for ‘Private Renters’ 2017 released

12:05 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago 26

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The Labour Party Manifesto 2017 promises to end insecurity for private renters.

The Party pledges to control rent increases (Rent Controls) and introduce new consumer rights for tenants with more secure tenancies and more Landlord Licencing.

This section of the document states:

“Labour will make new three year tenancies the norm, with an inflation cap on rent rises. Given the particular pressures in London we will look at giving the Mayor the power to give renters in London additional security. We will legislate to ban letting agency fees for tenants.

We will also empower tenants to call time on bad landlords by giving renters new consumer rights. Renters are spending £9.6 billion a year on homes that the government classes as ‘non-decent’. Around a quarter of this is paid by housing benefit. A Labour government would introduce new legal minimum standards to ensure properties are ‘fit for human habitation’ and empower tenants to take action if their rented homes are sub-standard.

We will reverse the cruel decision to abolish housing benefit for 18 to 21 yearolds, which risks putting even more vulnerable young people on our streets.”

Click Here to see the full document


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Comments

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

13:06 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

Stupidity and ignorance personified
.

Alison King

13:18 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

Apart from the annoying interference, this may not be as bad as it looks at first glance.I think landlords who expect their tenants to live in squalor do us all a dis-service and I would hope it applies equally to all landlords; not just private ones as some councils are the worst offenders.
Of course there must be a mechanism to protect landlords from tenants who create their own squalor.

I would welcome the opportunity to offer three year tenancies if it was allowed by my building society even though it is unlikely my tenants would want them.
As I have never put the rent up on an in-situ tenant, I would benefit financially from annual rent increases. I would hope that this would not apply to new tenancies, as between tenancies is ideal refurb time, and this would be budgeted for by raising the rent for the next tenant to match other properties of a comparable standard.
Allowing younger people to claim housing benefit would be fine, as long as it is accompanied by a relaxation in the HMO rules to re-encourage house shares. When I was that age I shared a house with six other students and it was a great way to live as it allows young people to support each other. I think its demise due to over-regulation is very unfortunate.

Michael Barnes

14:12 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

3-year tenancies with a 6-month break clause (one-off chance to end the tenancy) with the availability of S8 grounds thereafter do not seem unreasonable to me. It gives the tenants the opportunity to create a home and contribute to the community.

I also agree that tenant being able to terminate with at least one month notice expiring at the end of a rent-payment period any time after the initial term is reasonable: tenant's circumstances can change; landlords are (or should be) in for the long haul.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

14:26 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Michael Barnes" at "16/05/2017 - 14:12":

Deed of Assurance is far better in my opinion as there are too many complications with the Labour Party proposal.
.

terry sullivan

14:33 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

no thanx--thin end of the wedge

TheMaluka

15:07 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

£9.6 billion a year on homes that the government classes as ‘non-decent’

I wonder where this statistic came from?

terry sullivan

15:10 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

mase up, same as number of empty homes in london

Alison King

15:42 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "terry sullivan" at "16/05/2017 - 15:10":

I agree; probably made up. But there are some really awful properties out there even if it is fewer than the maybe-fake statistics.
I've seen some horrors when I've been viewing prospective purchases, and I've also heard awful stories from prospective tenants coming to view mine and from a letting agent who said there are some properties that they won't take on as they are so bad.
It only takes a few bad landlords to undermine an awful lot of good and conscientious ones; just as a few bad housing benefit tenants have made life more difficult for the rest.

Monty Bodkin

15:57 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "David Price" at "16/05/2017 - 15:07":

£9.6 billion a year on homes that the government classes as ‘non-decent’
I wonder where this statistic came from?

The decent homes standard is a measure used to assess social housing.
When applied across all English housing, about 30% of it would fail.
Of that, 22% is private rentals,13% is social housing and 65% owner occupier.

So I'm guessing they got Diane Abbot to scribble some numbers on the back of a fag packet.
1 million non-decent private + 0.5 million non-decent social multiplied it by the average rent and came up with £9.6 Bn.

But didn't take into account the age, diversity and personal choice of private housing, assuming the state knows best and that we should all live in government compliant boxes.

Rod

16:15 PM, 16th May 2017, About 7 years ago

It goes on! L/Ls are seen as the bad ones and tenants badly done too. In the real world where I live, quite the opposite can be true. Would many tenants honour a 3 year contract? Err, I don't think so! If 3 year contracts come in with the possibility of being stuck with a nightmare tenant, I'm off! I often write to the top dogs, John Healey shadow housing minister being the latest telling him what it's really like to be a L/L with nothing held back! Just for a change, put pressure on them till "they've" had enough! People never like their own medicine!

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