Tory think-tank and Shelter push for three-year tenancies for PRS

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The government should introduce three-year tenancies to protect tenants from uncertainty and rising rents, according to a liberal conservative think tank report.

The Bright Blue group has teamed up with Shelter to publish, ‘Home advantage: a new centre-right vision for housing’ which is billed as a radical vision for modern conservative housing policy, and a blueprint for policymakers.

It includes thought pieces from Conservative MPs, academics and charity bosses such as  James Cowling (pictured), founder of campaign group Next Generation Tories, who calls for a cultural shift in the perception of the relationship between landlords and tenants.

“Too often, the prevailing view is that that the tenant’s role is to provide a passive income to their landlords…this worldview robs renters of a sense of belonging,” he explains.

Go further

Cowling praises the Renters’ Reform Bill but calls for the government to go further. He says: “Extending the standard length of a contract for up to three years would help prevent people from being forced to regularly move and protect against rents being frequently jacked up.”

He adds: “Government must also look more closely at measures to protect renters against the failure of local councils, particularly in inner London.”

Other suggestions in the report include building an extra 90,000 social homes a year, creating a genuine, reformed Community Right to Buy and encouraging the government to release unused brownfield sites directly to local authorities.

Broken

In the foreword, Housing Minister Michael Gove (pictured) says everyone agrees that the current housing model is broken.

“That change is necessary is undeniable. We are bringing about change – and we are determined to see it through,” adds Gove, who says that while he doesn’t necessarily share the authors’ views on housing, some of which doesn’t reflect government policy, “they make an extremely valuable and timely contribution to the debate”.

Download the pamphlet.

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