Queen’s Speech 2021 – Landlord Reactions

Queen’s Speech 2021 – Landlord Reactions

17:13 PM, 11th May 2021, About 3 years ago 33

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My Government will help more people to own their own home whilst enhancing the rights of those who rent.

Laws to modernise the planning system, so that more homes can be built, will be brought forward, along with measures to end the practice of ground rents for new leasehold properties [Planning Bill, Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill].

My Ministers will establish in law a new Building Safety Regulator to ensure that the tragedies of the past are never repeated [Building Safety Bill].

In more detail the Renters’ Reforms

“My Government will help more people to own their own home whilst enhancing the rights of those who rent.”

The Government is committed to building back fairer and having a Better Deal for Renters in England. Later this year we will: publish our consultation response on reforming tenancy law to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and improve security for tenants in the private rented sector, as well as strengthening repossession grounds for landlords when they have valid cause.

Outline proposals for a new ‘lifetime’ tenancy deposit model that eases the burden on tenants when moving from one tenancy to the next, helping improve the experience of those living in the private rental sector.

Bring forward reforms to drive improvements in standards in rented accommodation, including by ensuring all tenants have a right to redress, and ensuring well targeted, effective enforcement that drives out criminal landlords, for example exploring the merits of a landlord register. We will publish a White Paper detailing this reform package in the autumn, and legislation will follow in due course.

There will be extensive stakeholder engagement working with the sector to inform and shape reforms. This will ensure the reforms deliver a private rented sector that works for both tenants and landlords, while also learning from the pandemic and its impact on the sector.

This reform package is also expected to require all private landlords to belong to a redress scheme, to drive up standards in the private rented sector and ensure that all tenants have a right to redress.

Consider further reforms of the private renter sector enforcement system so it is well-targeted, effective and supports improvements in property conditions. This will include a set of measures to hold bad landlords to account for delivering safe and decent housing to tenants without penalising good landlords.

Explore improvements and possible efficiencies to the possession process in the courts, to make it quicker and easier for landlords and tenants to use.

We will continue to deliver on the Social Housing White Paper proposals, including implementing the Charter for Social Housing Residents, delivering transformational change for social renters. We will also continue to develop reform of social housing regulations and look to legislate as soon as practicable. These reforms will drive social landlords’ compliance with improved consumer standards and place social renters’ interests at the heart of the regulatory system. We have already launched a review of the Decent Homes Standard, a working group on electrical safety, and held a consultation on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, three key aspects of our commitment to ensure safe and decent homes, as well as running a national campaign to raise awareness of how to seek redress.


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Comments

Dylan Morris

12:19 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by The Forever Tenant at 13/05/2021 - 12:02Far easier to simply ban deposits. Much better for the tenant.

TheMaluka

12:20 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by The Forever Tenant at 13/05/2021 - 12:02
It would probably work but no government would ever finance it.

Ian Narbeth

12:37 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Dylan Morris at 13/05/2021 - 12:19
In which case landlords will ask for 6 months' rent in advance. That will really help struggling tenants, won't it?

Dylan Morris

12:45 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 13/05/2021 - 12:37They’ll just ban taking rent in advance at the same time. Max one month upfront.

JB

14:28 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Dylan Morris at 13/05/2021 - 12:45
Then the rent will have to increase.
This is the result of all the bright ideas they come up with.

Luke P

14:33 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 13/05/2021 - 12:37Ian, how does my father’s early test-case (Piggott v Slavin 2007?) affect that? IIRC the Judge said, ‘Anything over and above the contractual rent due *will* be deemed a deposit…’

Ian Narbeth

14:53 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 13/05/2021 - 14:33
Hi Luke
It has been over-ruled See https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/information/case-law/is-rent-in-advance-a-deposit/
""In the Grimsby County Court case of Piggot v Slaven [2009] it was held that asking a tenant to pay money that would count as the final two months’ rent under the tenancy would effectively amount to a deposit.

However, this case was overruled in the Appeal Court ruling in Johnson v Old [2013] where a tenant paid 6 months’ rent upfront for a 6 month tenancy. When the landlord decided to apply for possession of the property, issuing a section 21 notice under the Housing Act 1988, the tenant argued in defence that the 6 months’ rent she had paid amounted to a deposit, and furthermore it had not been protected in one of the approved Deposit Protection Schemes. The section 21 notice was therefore defective, the tenant argued in its defence.

It was held that the 6 months’ rent that had been paid upfront could not possibly constitute a deposit because the purpose for which it had been paid was rent for the property. Had the tenant been asked to pay an additional month’s rent, on top of the previous payments, she could then have argued otherwise, questioning why she had to pay more than the rent amount."

Luke P

15:45 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 13/05/2021 - 14:53
Excellent news. He switched to guarantors only after that and I (along with many LL friends) followed suit. The whole area is like that now.

Luke P

15:47 PM, 13th May 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by The Forever Tenant at 13/05/2021 - 12:02
Theoretically, maybe. But Govt. don’t want any of this burden at their door, though seemingly not at the tenants door/responsibility either. They’ll royally mess it up, no doubt.

Blodwyn

9:18 AM, 15th May 2021, About 3 years ago

There is a very good Scots word 'guddle', it means exactly what it sounds like, a mish-mash enhanced muddle. No disrespect intended, Ma'am, but did you understand the contents of your speech because many wise folk are struggling?

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