Improving private renting
This content applies to England only.
Many people have had a bad experience of renting in the private sector at some point in their lives, whether because of poor living conditions or an unscrupulous landlord.
However, with high house prices and a lack of decent social housing, millions rely on the private rented sector to meet their housing needs. It's critical therefore that the private rented sector is improved to ensure all tenants can access and keep a decent, affordable home.
An overview of the private rented sector
Private rented housing is owned, managed and let out by private landlords. The landlord could be an individual or a company. Sometimes management companies or estate agents will manage and let out the property on the owner's behalf. Unlike renting in the social housing sector, most private rental properties are let out on a purely commercial basis, at market rents, and typically on relatively insecure, fixed-term contracts.
The problems with the private rented sector
Many people renting in the private sector are unable to afford expensive rents and deposits. Families and individuals often resign themselves to living in some of the poorest living conditions in the UK. 44 per cent of homes in the private rented sector in England fail to meet the Government's Decent Home Standard. [1]
Shelter deals with many clients who are experiencing problems with private rented tenancies. In addition to complaints about atrocious living conditions, the most commonly reported problems were rent arrears and the threat of being made homeless due to eviction. The assured shorthold tenancy, widely used within the private sector provides tenants with little security. As a result, many tenants avoid complaining about disrepair and damp, for fear of eviction.
Many private renters, such as pensioners, the disabled, and working households on low incomes, depend on housing benefits to help them pay their rent. However, the gap between market rents and housing benefit levels across large areas of the country makes it extremely difficult for tenants to find a suitable home which they can afford. New proposals by the Government to reduce the amount of housing benefit private renters can claim are likely to exacerbate this problem even further.
How can the private rented sector be improved?
Shelter believes the private rented sector should be judged on the standard of service it provides to tenants. In April 2007, following years of campaigning by Shelter and other organisations, the tenancy deposit protection scheme was introduced. This scheme is now benefiting thousands of private tenants who previously faced problems getting their deposits returned by unscrupulous landlords.
However, Shelter believes a lot more needs to be done to improve the way the private rented sector works: in in particular, we want to see action to:
- Improve tenants' and landlords' awareness of their rights and responsibilities, and make it easier for tenants to seek redress when things go wrong.
- Tackle the small minority of rogue landlords, who deliberately set out to exploit their tenants, undermining the reputation of the rest of the sector.
- Encourage good practice by landlords and provide assistance and support to vulnerable and formerly homeless people housed in the sector.
- Ensure a fair housing benefit system that enables low-income households to rent a home appropriate to their needs and that rewards work.
- Attract new investment into the provision of high quality private rented homes, particularly on longer term tenancies.
Campaign demands
Shelter calls on the Government to:
- Work with local authorities to prioritise the prosecution of rogue landlords.
- Introduce a requirement to have written tenancy agreements for all tenancies.
- Strengthen the law to allow people to be banned from being a landlord if they have unspent convictions relating to previous landlord offences.
- Amend its proposed changes to housing benefit to mitigate the impact on those who will be hardest hit, and to ensure that all private tenants can still afford a decent place to live.
[1] CLG, English Housing Survey Headline Report 2008-9
The affordability barrier
While those on higher incomes may find renting privately an affordable and flexible alternative to buying their own home, the situation for those on low incomes is very different. These households find it difficult to afford decent privately rented accommodation, which becomes a major housing issue when no social housing alternative is available.
The accessibility barrier
Gaining access to accommodation in the private rented sector can be a real problem for some would-be tenants. Research by Shelter found that one third of advertisements for private rented properties barred housing benefit claimants outright. Phone calls to adverts not specifying such a bar found as few as one in six landlords willing to accept a housing benefit claimant as a tenant.
Why security of tenure matters
Once a private tenant has found a place to live, the next challenge is for them to hold on to it. Since 28 February 1997, Assured Shorthold Tenancies have been the standard tenancy for those renting privately. The only security this contract affords to the tenant is that the landlord cannot evict them for the first six months of a tenancy. After that, however, unless a new tenancy is signed, the tenant can be evicted at any time with two months notice.
Improving living conditions
Living in poor quality, badly maintained accommodation puts wellbeing at risk. Research has shown that poor housing conditions have a particularly negative impact on children. Those living in overcrowded or run down accommodation have an increased risk of asthma, problem behaviour and also tend to do less well at school.
