Clickbait politics will lead to the death of the Private Rental Sector in the UK, and it won't be good for anyone

The third reading of the Renter's Reform Bill (RRB) took place last week, and the bill is starting to take shape after final amendments were debated last week in the House of Commons. The bill will now be passed onto the House of Lords for debate before returning to parliament in the next few weeks, hoping to get Royal Assent before the next general election. 

The bill promises to deliver the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in 30 years. The bill outlines the government's fundamental reform to the Housing Act 1988 tenancies and 'level up' the housing quality. The measures include: 

1. Abolition of Section 21 – No fault evictions

2. End fixed-term tenancies.

3. Reform the grounds for possession.

4. Remove the rent increase clause.

5. Create a Private Rented Property Portal.

6. Introduce a Private Rented Sector Ombudsman.

7. Ban discriminatory advertising practices.

8. Implement a Decent Homes Standard for the Private Rented Sector (PRS)

9. The right to request a pet.

10. Landlords are held liable for the behaviour of rent-to-rent companies.

I will not explain each of these reforms in detail, as that will be covered in a separate blog. However, you will get a general idea of the scale of changes being implemented through RRB. 

Housing Charities have withdrawn their support for the bill:

Renters Reform Coalition (RRC), who had previously backed government reforms, say that they have been watered down by a "minority of landlord backbencher MPs" and that the bill if passed, will be a colossal failure that won't protect tenants. The most significant point of contention for RRC is that there is no set date for the abolition of Section 21 (no fault evictions). The second point of contention is that if a notice was served to a tenant by a landlord, it should be six months' notice as opposed to the two months that are currently proposed in the bill. 

Getting a firm date for the abolition of Section 21 might help reassure tenants of when it's likely to happen. The government argues that it is not confident that the court system is geared up for Section 21 to be abolished, so it will reform the court system first and then abolish Section 21. But make no mistake: the bill promises to abolish Section 21. 

However, let's look at some facts. Last year, just 30,000 Section 21 notices were issued out of 11 million renters, less than 0.50% of all renters. Most tenants, in fact, 85% of all, made their last move voluntarily. To disown the bill that impacts such a small number of people seems disingenuous on the part of the RRC when it promises to change so much for the renters.

According to figures published by Generation Rent, landlords selling their properties is the biggest cause of homelessness, not section 21. Then why is there such a heavy emphasis on this despite it being abolished in the bill? There are bigger issues that face tenants today. 

For every available property to rent in the UK, there are 13 enquiries, compared to just 5 enquiries per property back in 2019. Rightmove estimates that nearly 50,000 rental properties will still be needed to return to the pre-pandemic level of rental supply. As a result of an imbalance between demand and supply, rents have been increasing at a record pace, with rents increasing by 8.5% compared to last year.

Richard Rowntree, Paragon Bank's managing director of mortgages, says that over the long term, it's clear that we will need more rental homes and a vibrant PRS across the UK. "With the population forecast to increase by 9.9%—or by 6.6 million people—by 2036, demand for rental property will be stronger. 

Despite RRC's research suggesting that the biggest cause of homelessness is landlords selling their property, no constructive viewpoint is given by RRC on how they can stop landlords from selling to help those in rental accommodation to boost supply. Their answer to most of the problems that renters face today is either abolition of section 21 or more legislation, which will likely result in further supply constraints in the PRS sector, making landlords sell. 

It seems that the Renters Reform Coalition says it represents the best interests of renters, but it needs to ask itself if it is helping renters or adding to their misery. By misreporting and playing clickbait politics to drum up a narrative, it is letting down the very people it claims to represent.

Housing is a topic that evokes strong emotions in most people. Unfortunately, some individuals and politicians use these emotions to their advantage, raising funds and pushing unhelpful narratives to renters. They claim to be advocating for the welfare of renters, but in reality, they are only working towards self-preservation and self-interest. They may fly the flag of renter welfare, but they do not represent their interests because if they did, they would tackle the biggest issues facing renters and not play clickbait politics.