Agenda item

The Director of housing submits a report which outlines the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill, the Supported Housing Act 2023 (regulations), and the introduction of the Private Rented Sector Strategy.

The Director of Housing and the Head of Regulatory Service presented a report on outlining recent and upcoming developments aimed at the improvement of private rented sector stock within the city. The presentation covered: 

• The Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) 

• The Supported Housing Act 2023 (regulations) (SHA) and; 

• The introduction of a refreshed Private Rented Sector (PRS) strategy.  

The Renters’ Rights Bill 

The RRB was currently at the report stage in the House of Lords and was anticipated to come into force by summer 2025. There were several facets to this bill which would be introduced in phases, though no definitive timescales had been set for this.  Key changes introduced included: 

• Abolition of Fixed Assured Shorthold Tenancies, which would be replaced by periodic tenancies, giving flexibility to tenants by allowing them to remain in a property until they decide to end the tenancy by giving two months’ notice. 

• Restriction to a limit of one rent increase per year by landlords. 

• Abolition of s.21 (no-fault) eviction. The change in law came with the requirement for landlords to go to court with a justified reason for eviction 

• Ban on rental bidding war, preventing landlords from encouraging tenants to outbid one another for properties. 

• The introduction of a new PRS ombudsman to oversee complaints from individuals and hold landlords accountable.  

• The introduction of a PRS national database, where landlords would be required to register, enabling Local Authorities to identify and track problems in the area, especially in relation to landlords that own multiple properties.  

• The Decent Homes Standards would be extended to PRS properties. 

• Introduction of Awwab’s law in relation to damp and mould, new service standards and timescales for response would apply to social landlords and PRS alike. 

• Prohibition of discrimination against people who were on benefits from renting properties. 

• These changes had wide-reaching implications across the service areas (detailed in the report) - existing powers would be extended, and additional responsibilities placed on the Council. To manage this, a Project Board had been established to coordinate the Council’s response to these changes. 

• New funding was expected to assist the Council in meeting these new obligations, but details of this were not yet available. 

Supported Housing Act (SHA) 

• The Act was already in force and its objective was to address issues around quality of accommodation, care and support not matching the rent levels paid in Supported Exempt Accommodations (SEAs) (i.e. accommodation linked to care leavers, domestic violence survivors, refugees, prison leavers).  

• There was previously no regulation that empowered local authorities to deal with such issues, but the SHA gave new powers to: 

• Set a local strategy for supported housing 

• Have a licensing regime that would enable the Council to influence the quality of stock and investigate the quality of care and support provisions that individuals were entitled to. 

• The Council was proactively mapping all existing SEAs within the city and had established a partnership board that includes Housing, Neighbourhoods and Social Care to ensure collaboration in delivering on the different elements of the Act. 

• Council was also considering what this would mean from an inspection regime standpoint, for both the accommodation and social care inspection. 

• The department was still awaiting clarity on what government funding would be made available to implement these changes effectively.  

The PRS Strategy 

The Council was developing a revised PRS strategy aimed at delivering a holistic and coordinated approach to supporting both tenants and landlords. The new strategy would incorporate the Council’s responses to the RRB and SHA, given their direct relevance to it. Some key points noted were: 

• The strategy had key strategic priorities (set out in paragraph 3.22 of the report) covering improving standards, improving support, improving enforcement and protection, strengthening intelligence and promoting a joined-up approach. 

• The Council was at the stage of developing a formal revised strategy 

The Deputy City Mayor for Housing, Economy and Neighbourhoods acknowledged the potential tension between the priorities of the Council and those of landlords. She emphasised that the updated strategy aimed to take on board the challenges and needs from both sides while responding fairly to them, as well as maintaining positive landlord relationships. 

In response to questions, it was noted that: 

• There had been a recent uplift in section 21 cases because PRS landlords were concerned about the new RRB changes. The Council had a close relationship with the courts and had information regarding the uplift e.g. where historically there were 16 cases requiring temporary accommodation weekly, the past week had seen a spike to 23 cases. The Council had increased Homelessness Prevention officers from 14 to over 30, to have sufficient resources to deal with this. 

• Another way for managing this ongoing pressure was the delivery of 250 temporary accommodations, and a record number of permanent accommodations was underway 

• The abolition of no-fault evictions had positively impacted landlords’ response to the Council’s incentive scheme. This was mutually beneficial because it provided security for the landlord, as well as increasing the Council’s access to PRS stock. 

• In response to the question about how the discrimination against individuals on benefits would be regulated, it was noted that unless there was explicit evidence against the landlord, enforcement would be difficult. However, registration of a landlord on the National database would make it easier to identify trends and build an evidence base that would allow for formal action.  

• Regarding the monitoring of estate agents, it was stated that educating them on their legal obligations would potentially lead to a culture shift and relationship. However, where concrete evidence of discrimination was available, formal action could be taken. Additionally, civil penalties for selective licensing breaches were being issued to not only landlords but also to letting and managing agents when appropriate.   

• To balance engagement with landlords and regulatory enforcement, the Council aimed to support compliant landlords while taking action against those who failed to meet their obligations. In support of this, there was ongoing proactive engagement with landlord forums and representative groups. This relationship building had increased the confidence and trust of landlords in the Council to utilise their stock, and had resulted in 240 PRS properties secured last year, with a target of around 500 this year. Beyond this, there was the “call before you serve” initiative, which encouraged early dialogue between landlords and the Council to resolve issues before a formal notice was served. 

• Work was ongoing to establish the necessary regulatory structures to deliver the requirements of the RRB, SHA, and the PRS strategy. 

AGREED: 

That the report be noted.