Levelling Up White Paper – S21 abolished – Landlord register – Decent homes standard

Levelling Up White Paper – S21 abolished – Landlord register – Decent homes standard

7:59 AM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago 78

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Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will further be abolished, ending the unfair situation where renters can be kicked out of their homes for no reason.

We will consult on introducing a landlords register, and will set out plans for a crackdown on rogue landlords – making sure fines and bans stop repeat offenders leaving renters in terrible conditions.

The government will announce a plan that for the first time ever, all homes in the Private Rented Sector will have to meet a minimum standard – the Decent Homes Standard.

The above are the key plans that affect landlords directly in the government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper being promoted today by Secretary of State Michael Gove. Click here to read the full press release.

The government aim is that by 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas.

Other plans for the housing market include:

The government will support 20 of our towns and city centres, starting off with Wolverhampton and Sheffield, undertaking ambitious, King’s Cross-style regeneration projects, transforming derelict urban sites into beautiful communities. This work will be spearheaded by Homes England, which will be repurposed to, in addition to its existing functions, regenerate towns and cities.

The ‘80/20 rule’ which leads to 80% of government funding for housing supply being directed at ‘maximum affordability areas’ – in practice, London and the South East – will be scrapped, with much of the £1.8 billion brownfield funding instead being diverted to transforming brownfield sites in the North and Midlands. The Metro Mayors will be allocated £120 million of this funding.

Home ownership will be boosted due to a new £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund being launched, which will provide loans to SMEs and support the UK government’s wider regeneration agenda in areas that are a priority for levelling up.

The government will further commit to building more genuinely affordable social housing. A new Social Housing Regulation Bill will deliver upon the commitments the government made following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017.

The government will give local authorities the power to require landlords of empty shops to fill them if they have been left vacant for too long.

Michael 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.”

Party Minister Boris Johnson said: “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.

“The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight, but this White Paper is the next crucial step.

“It is a vision for the future that will see public spending on R&D increased in every part of the country; transport connectivity improving; faster broadband in every community; life expectancies rising; violent crime falling; schools improving; and private sector investment being unleashed.

“It is the most comprehensive, ambitious plan of its kind that this country has ever seen and it will ensure that the government continues to rise to the challenge and deliver for the people of the UK.”


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Comments

12:20 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

here's an idea ... a £3 billion bill for this might change HMG's minds.

Housing benefit (£17 billion per year) has to be paid at 30th percentile of the local area market rents.

However sneakily their data hasn't been updated for 2 years !!! presumably due to covid check yours here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Search.aspx

Rent rises are real and being driven by less supply https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-10379353/Renters-face-perfect-storm-price-rises-2022.html and we or soemone needs to make sure these figures are corrected and reflected in benefits payments. I reckon they are about 20 % undervalued if they are 2 years out of date

I don't actively let to HB tenants myself but when this data gets corrected HMG will see quite clearly that they are creating a Supply and Demand crisis that will cost them £3 billion pounds this year alone with similar increases in the future.

Thoughts?

Simon

12:26 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Jane Tomlin at 02/02/2022 - 12:02
How is it indefinite? You can sell at anytime with or without a tenant in situ.

Jane Tomlin

12:56 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Simon at 02/02/2022 - 12:26
Maybe I have missed something, but how do you get someone out without a section 21 notice? For a section 8 notice the tenants need to have not paid their rent? Have you tried selling a property with a tenant in situ? No-one wants to buy the property, without a substantial discount, as they just assume the tenant is a bad one otherwise why would you be selling.

Barbara Gwyer

13:07 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Pity they don't put their focus on bringing social housing up to standard. The flats I own on social housing estates are palaces compared to what the relevant housing association or the council is renting.

TrevL

13:15 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Combining this with increasing to interest rates, who would choose to be a landlord now?

Cindy

14:06 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

The Leveling up paper has 12 missions, the 10th one being focused on our sector;
"Mission 10. By 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas."
While it is scary what's coming around the corner in one aspect, it also might not happen - it's just a paper.
It's just business and means we have at least 5 years to gear our business to be market proof. I don't agree to all the changes proposed, but then again, it might not actually all happen either. Follow the money - where they could actually increase taxes or fines and if the longshot means that they will get hit with higher housing benefits, then it won't happen as they have to make a net positive to the treasury. However, and this is the thing for me - I do think BTLs might be squeezed because of the number of growing Housing Charities which are becoming massive players, providing much needed housing to people private landlords avoid and at a cheaper rental price too! Gonna be interesting time ahead.

Neilt

14:06 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Sam Smith at 02/02/2022 - 09:04
"Finally, what is the point in voting Conservative?"
Because voting for the other team would be far far worse.

Cindy

14:21 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by neilt at 02/02/2022 - 14:06Doesn't matter who you vote for - the same Civil Servants are still in the background. Watch "Yes Minister" - it's pretty accurate 😀

Neilt

14:54 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ann Shaw at 02/02/2022 - 12:17
Rent regulation, and was in place from 1915 until its abolition (excluding some council houses) by the Housing Act 1988. By the Conservatives.
Do be careful about who you vote for in the next General Election. History shows that Labour is far more anti Landlord than the Conservatives would ever be.
Extract from Wiki;
The new Conservative government passed the Rent Act 1957 which decontrolled all the more valuable houses and reintroduced a system of gradual decontrol in a revised form. lt also transformed the method of fixing the maximum rent payable by tenants by introducing a formula based upon rateable value.
The Labour Government elected in 1964 had pledged to repeal the 1957 Rent Act.
The Rent Act 1965 introduced the Rent Officer Service...

TheBiggerPicture

15:05 PM, 2nd February 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Yannick LM at 02/02/2022 - 08:54
Can we have a rogue government register? 🙂

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