Levelling-Up Committee question Minister on renters reform
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee questions Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Rachel Maclean, the Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway, and renters and landlords’ groups in a one-off evidence session to follow-up on the Committee’s private rented sector (PRS) report and the Government’s Renters (Reform) Bill.
Meeting details
The cross-party group of MPs examines the provisions of the Bill, and and the Committee’s report into Reforming the Private Rented Sector (published 6 February 2023) which focussed on the proposals included in the Government’s White Paper, which was primarily a response to concerns about security of tenure and housing quality.
The Committee will also explore the potential impacts of the Bill on landlords and renters, including students.
Questions are likely to focus on the implications of a new ombudsman for the private rented sector, abolishing assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs), and aspects of the sector not covered by the Bill explicitly such as housing quality and affordability.
The Government has not yet published its response to the Committee’s report.
The Committee’s report (see news item) expressed concerns that the Government risked undermining its own proposed tenancy reforms, include the banning of section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, unless it fixed delays in the court system.
The report made a series of recommendations in relation to tenancy reform, including on proposed sales and occupations grounds, on housing standards and on affordability.