Renters’ Rights Bill claims debunked by AI — will the minister now do the right thing?

The Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has boasted on passing the Renters’ Rights Bill: “The bill will improve the lives of England’s 11 million private renters. It is a transformational piece of legislation”.

I asked AI and it doesn’t exactly agree.

AI says this:  There is no exact, up-to-date figure for the total number of rental properties in the UK for 2025, but recent data suggests it is around 5.6 million, based on 2021 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The private rental sector is experiencing significant trends in 2025, including a large number of landlords selling properties and a shortage of available homes, which creates high demand and competition.

Key trends in 2025
Decrease in available properties: The number of available rental properties has dropped significantly, with one report showing a 23% decrease compared to 2019.

High tenant demand: Tenant interest remains strong, with reports of 10 applications per rental property on average, a figure that has doubled since before the pandemic.

Landlords selling up: A major trend is the number of landlords selling their properties, driven by factors like rising taxes and stricter regulations, which is a significant factor in the shortage of available rentals.

Record high rents: Average rents have reached record highs, though the pace of rent increases has started to slow down in some areas.
Increased competition: The high demand and low supply have resulted in fierce competition for renta”

Talk about transformational!

With hundreds of thousands of rental properties lost to the rental sector and demand outstripping supply, it’s worth considering social tenants who have been defunded by failing to increase LHA rates in line with rental increases.

This has made it nearly impossible for social tenants to find property when workers who had been given inflationary rises were not under the same pressures. The one safety net social tenants had was LHA were set at the 30th percentile but this was cruel and deliberately dropped by government policy.

Perhaps Mr Pennycook should reflect on the transformational damage AI suggests he is doing to the housing market by reducing rental supply. The policy is creating misery for renters with higher costs, with most vulnerable social tenants being impacted the most.

Words are cheap, and the Minister, Shelter and Generation Rent should reflect on the evidence of their talk and policy. Let’s check back in a year and see who is being held to account.

What does the Property118 community think?

Thanks,

Paul