Rental sector 'needs a shake-up'

The report is the third from the Law Commission on housing legislation

Too much property in the private rented sector is in a poor condition, is badly managed and requires better regulation, according to a Law Commission report.

It wants a central regulator to oversee landlord associations and professional bodies in England and Wales.

The proposal is for this to replace the courts or tribunals as the first port of call for disputes between landlords and tenants.

The report says the private rented sector has a "poor reputation".

Housing downturn

The report is the third on the effectiveness of housing laws published by the Law Commission.

An increasing number of people are deciding to rent in the current economic climate Prof Martin Partington

It is particularly relevant now as the rented sector tends to see a rise in demand, and thus rising costs for tenants, during a housing market slowdown.

The Law Commission - whose remit covers England and Wales - said its project was not proposing major changes in the law, but ways of making it more effective.

The report said the sector suffered from a poor reputation which prevented it from playing as full a part as it should in the national and local housing markets.

"An increasing number of people are deciding to rent in the current economic climate making it more important than ever that the private rented sector takes its place effectively in the housing market," said Professor Martin Partington, the Commission's consultant on housing law.

"Too much privately rented property is in a poor condition and poorly managed."

Regulation

The Commission said that few landlords belong to a representative body. It has called for landlord accreditation schemes to be set up in every council area.

It wants landlords to either join one of these schemes, become a member of a private landlords association or rent out premises through an accredited letting agent.

All of these professional bodies would then be overseen by the central regulator, called a housing standards monitor.

It would also like to see a single code of housing management practice for landlords.

Stronger regulation would remove some of the worst accommodation from the market but the report said it was important to keep up the amount of available rented property.

Peter Cosmetatos, of the British Property Federation, said that good landlords would be happy to regulate themselves, but for bad landlords who "slipped under the radar" regulation would be difficult to enforce.

David Salusbury, of the National Landlords Association, said that "building on voluntary self-regulation" would be a good thing for landlords and tenants.

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BBC website readers have been sharing their views on the rental market:

I rent a poorly insulated house at a time of rapidly increasing energy costs. Unfortunately my landlord has no interest or incentive to do anything about it, and despite telling me on several occasions he intends to do something, nothing has happened. Actions speak louder than words. Why should my only choice be to move house into other rental accommodation - expensive and a lot of upheaval, potential school change for the children etc? There is no guarantee that the next landlord will be any more responsive to any other issues that there may be either. Without effective regulation and standards they are under no obligation to do anything.
Steve, Plymouth, Devon

If landlords have more statutory regulation this will add costs which will be ultimately passed onto tenants, who are generally the poorest members of society. By letting the market regulate, poor landlords will get lower rents, more voids and poor quality tenants. I am a landlord and by giving my tenants a "good deal" my tenants are very satisfied and so am I. Third parties add little if any benefit.
David Crossman, UK

Fantastic start. But what the rental market really needs is a return to greater security of tenure and regulation of rents; in an age when the average age of first-time buyers is 34, many will have had children before being able to buy, and children need secure homes to grow up in, not needing to move every 6 months at a landlord's whim.
Caroline, London, England

Current legislation affords little protection to those in the private rented sector - especially when compared to the situation across the rest of Western Europe. UK tenants have few rights and little security. Even the recently introduced deposit schemes are riddled with loopholes rendering them useless for many.
John, London, UK

As someone who has rented for too many years, because of house prices, I feel constantly unsettled because the law doesn't protect tenants against landlords. They can move us out at the drop of a hat and it is the tenant who has to pick up the bill for moving (on the face of it, quite rightly), but if you have a family as I have, the £2,500 - £3,000 total it costs, to up sticks and move is more than hard to bear. I am so unsettled that in a few years when our children are 18, we are planning to buy a caravan or a boat or anything that means we are no longer having the long term low level worry of renting in the UK - something that gives us security of tenure. If it wasn't for our advancing age and the responsibilities of elderly parents, we would sadly leave this damn country for good.
Robbo, Sussex UK

Landlords should definitely be better regulated. I had to fill in a ridiculously long form for my previous landlord, including stating the reasons for leaving my last job, which is neither relevant nor any of his business. When I moved in there I was astonished by the level of incompetence his company displayed and their indifference to making my flat a safe and habitable place to live. The irony is that I was a reliable and responsible tenant and they were cowboys - they should have had to provide a reference to me, not the other way round.
Loretta, London, UK

This looks like yet another way to increase costs for tenants. If landlords who rent directly to tenants now are forced to go through a property agent, the rent will have to increase to cover the agent's commission. That's basic economics. My own landlord is very reasonable, but having to rent my home from an agent instead could make things very difficult. I expect a lot of rental property will disappear from the market as landlords decide it isn't worth the extra hassle and expense.
John, Whitstable UK