‘Reform bill misses point – we need more affordable rented homes, not regulation’

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Rent reforms won’t work until the real problem of affordable housing waiting lists is addressed, according to leading property expert Kate Faulkner.

Although MPs are focusing on the PRS, the housing crisis is nothing to do with the private sector, believes Faulkner, who suggests that building at least one million social homes would remove the people on housing benefit and free up homes in private sector.

“What if we could incentivise 50,000 investors to build two homes to hand over to the council each year? We should work with the private sector which is currently taking the strain from a lack of social homes.”

Speaking to Sean Hooker (pictured), head of redress at the Property Redress Scheme, on the latest episode of The Property Cast, Faulkner also voiced doubts that removing Section 21 would make any difference.

“What will happen is we’ll know the main reason it was issued was either for rent arrears, anti-social behaviour or to sell – it will just clarify that it was never a no-fault eviction.”

Too late

She added that the laws in the Renters (Reform) Bill are coming too late, and with no announcement about how extra enforcement will be funded.

“HMO licensing has already been tested – that’s failed and cost lots of money. In London there are 2.2 people enforcing 10,000 PRS properties and enforcement takes too long. As we’ve got so little stock, tenants can come out of a property quicker, but they’ve got nowhere to go.”

She reiterated her belief that the government can only address issues by introducing legislation pre-tenancy, to stop bad landlords, agents and properties coming onto the market in the first place – not post-tenancy.

“For example, if they’d introduced the Regulation of Property Agents legislation as promised to train agents in law…and said properties needed to have an MOT, we’d already have been 75% there.”

Read more about the bill.

ViDEO SHORTS: Watch Kate talking about the Renters (Reform) Bill

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