Regulation of private renting

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 8 Dec 2021 Closed: 2 Sep 2022 Parliament page
The number of people living in private rented accommodation has doubled in the last 20 years, and there are now an estimated 4.4 million privately rented households in England, with rents outside London increasing at the fastest rate on record in 2021. While most tenants have a good experience of … Read more
15 Recommendations
11 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 7 events
8 Sep
2022
Correspondence
2 Sep
2022
Report published
13 Apr
2022
Report published
22 Feb
2022
Correspondence
22 Feb
2022
Correspondence
31 Jan
2022
Oral evidence
31 Jan
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
31 Jan 2022
View on parliament.uk
Regulation of private renting
Anny Cullum · Acorn the Union Ben Beadle · National Residential Landlords' Association Ben Beadle · National Residential Landlords Association Caroline Crowther · The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Ms Ruth Ehrlich · Shelter Tamara Sandoul · The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Tracey Waltho · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of private renting HC 996 13 Apr 2022 26 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
5 Recommendation Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
The Department lacks good enough data to understand the nature and extent of problems renters...
The Department lacks good enough data to understand the nature and extent of problems renters face. The Department lacks sufficient data on the challenges facing landlords, tenants, and local authorities within the sector. For example, it lacks robust data on … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions, and are working to further develop its approach to data to support its renters reform program.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
To ensure that regulation and other forms of support are effective in protecting renters, the...
To ensure that regulation and other forms of support are effective in protecting renters, the Department needs good data and insight into their experiences and the challenges they face. The Department told us that as part of its upcoming White … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
However, the Department acknowledged gaps and limitations in its current data, and it is reliant...
However, the Department acknowledged gaps and limitations in its current data, and it is reliant on tenant representatives such as Shelter and Citizens Advice to understand tenant experiences.47 For example, it estimates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, over-crowding peaked at … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
Data gaps also mean the Department does not collect the information it needs to evaluate...
Data gaps also mean the Department does not collect the information it needs to evaluate the impact of recent legislative changes. For example, in 2015 it introduced changes in the Deregulation Act to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction after raising … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop a coherent data strategy and states they utilize a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
The Department has made some improvements to the private rented sector in the past ten...
The Department has made some improvements to the private rented sector in the past ten years. This includes banning unnecessary charges through the Tenant Fees Act 46 Q 90 47 Qq 91, 93 48 Q 65 49 Qq 92, 93; … Read more
Government Response
The government recognizes the improvements made to the private rented sector in the past ten years, including banning unnecessary charges through the Tenant Fees Act and deposit protection schemes.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
The Department highlighted that its recent work has rightly focused on responding to the COVID-19...
The Department highlighted that its recent work has rightly focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which it introduced protections through a temporary restriction on eviction proceedings. The Department told us it continues to monitor the situation as restrictions … Read more
Government Response
The government recognises the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and pressures faced by both landlords and tenants.
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of…
The Department told us it is now returning to the strategic reform agenda and intends...
The Department told us it is now returning to the strategic reform agenda and intends to publish a White Paper later in 2022.59 It has highlighted specific issues it plans to address as part of its reforms, including security of … Read more
Government Response
The government recognizes the need for greater fairness in the system to allow renters to realize their right to a safe and secure home and published a white paper on 16 June 2022 setting out details of the planned reforms.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 26 of 15 classified
Accepted 11
Acknowledged 7
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 5
Total 15 recs + 11 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
8 Sep 2022 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to Dame Meg Hillier, Chair, Committee on Public Accounts, re Regulation of private renting, dated 13 July 2022
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22 Feb 2022 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, re Further information following the oral evidence session: Regulation of private renting, Public Accounts Committee, dated 10 February 2022
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22 Feb 2022 Correspondence from Caroline Crowther Director, Private Rented Sector & Leasehold, re Further information following the oral evidence session: Regulation of private renting, Public Accounts Committee, dated 11 February 2022
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