Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Commission which sets out the Council's strategic plans for undertaking work to improve the private rented sector (PRS) across the City of Leicester.

The Director of Housing submitted a report to the Commission which set out the Council's strategic plans for undertaking work to improve the private rented

sector (PRS) across the City of Leicester.

The Head of Regulatory Services presented the report.

Key points included:

·       The report detailed the Council’s Private Rental Sector Strategy (PRSS) for the year 2026-2031 and responded to the growing importance of the private rental sector in the city. It was estimated that there were 40,000 privately rented properties in the city, who catered to the needs of residents who could not gain access to social housing or home ownership.

·       The Council faced increasing pressure from the rising homelessness demand, affordability challenges and poor housing conditions in the city.  Nationally the Renters Rights Act was bringing in some of the biggest changes to the sector in a generation, which provided tenants with increased protection and introduced new duties and enforcement powers for Councils.

·       There was a clear objective for the strategy, which was to improve housing standards in Leicester for the private rental sector for the benefit of tenants, landlords and the wider community. The strategy set out six high-level objectives listed on page 6 of the report (Appendix A) to help achieve the central objective. It was highlighted that each objective was supported by workstreams detailed in the report.

·       The strategy aimed to take a balanced approach and not alienate landlords. It was acknowledged that most landlords wanted to provide quality accommodation and comply with legal responsibilities. Therefore, the scheme provided guidance and support to compliant landlords while taking robust action against rogue, criminal and non-compliant landlords. Delivery of the strategy was overseen by Private Rental Sector Strategy Board, and progress was monitored through performance measures and regular reports to scrutiny. 

In discussions with Members, the following was noted:

·       Members were interested to learn of the impacts of the removal of Section 21 eviction notices. Officers commented that the prominent impact so far was a surge in Section 21 notices from landlords before the act came into effect. It was noted that there was a backlog of Section 21 cases going through the courts at the time. It was noted that nationally there was a 16% increase in Section 21 notices in the final year the Renter’s Rights Act came into effect. 

·       Members were keen to learn how the Council was handling the new duties it had received as part of the Renter’s Rights Act. The Head of Regulatory Services commented that the Council already had the Housing Standards Team and Selective Licensing team who dealt with problems in the private rental sector. So the new duties fitted well into the established work streams.   

·       Members were concerned about the possible impacts on landlords and whether the Council was concerned about landlords selling up their properties. It was explained that while the aim of the work was to improve standards of properties, they were keen to keep landlords on side and involved in the process. The work was a careful balance of managing the needs off all those involved.

·       Clarification was asked about a section of the report that detailed Council support to accessibility works in the private rented sector. The Director of Housing commented that Central Government provided the Council with a grant each year as part of the Disabled Facilities Grant. The aim of this fund was to provide support to tenants living in private rented accommodation, the Council would conduct assessments on the property and decide what works were required, then it would either be completed by the Council or by the private contractors of the tenant’s choosing.

·       The Chair was keen to learn more about Selective licensing scheme, the progress made and how it worked with the Renter’s Rights Act. It was explained that the licencing team was currently 4 years into a 5 year designation and had also received 83% of expected applications.  As part of the work, they found several category 2 hazards which the landlords were required to improve. The Head of Regulatory Services noted that this showed that the team was operating in the right areas and making private rental properties safer. Regarding work with the Renter’s Right’s Act, it was noted that the scheme provided the Council with another useful tool in its toolkit to help tackle landlord malpractice.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.