Local authorities will struggle to enforce the Government’s rental reforms without a ‘significant boost to their resources,’ according to a cross-party group of MPs.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Private Rented Sector has warned that the Government’s efforts at reforms will run into difficulties because of the current squeeze on council finances.
The Renters (Reform) Bill includes a new decent homes standard for the private rented sector, a new Property Portal for rental housing, and the end of ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions.
However, the APPG has warned that without sufficient resources, local authorities will not be able to properly address the actions of rogue or criminal landlords.
The cross-party group said there were not enough environmental health officers (EHOs) to deal with complaints from tenants, citing data from the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health that shows for every 10,000 private rented homes there were less than three EHOs.
The APPG also said there was not enough legal aid to support tenants and landlords in contested possession hearings. Over 40% of people in England and Wales currently have no access to a legal aid provider with expertise in housing law in their area.
APPG chair Andrew Lewer MP said: ‘It is vital that the Bill provides security to tenants, gives confidence to responsible landlords and roots out rogue and criminal landlords providing sub-standard housing.
‘However, none of this will be possible without robust enforcement of the powers being proposed.’
He added that the Government needed to ‘provide substantial multi-year funding’ to ensure councils could enforce reforms.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted for comment.
