Forty-Ninth Report - Regulation of private renting
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 996
13 April 2022
Recommendations
1 results
5
Acknowledged
The Department lacks good enough data to understand the nature and extent of problems renters...
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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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Conclusions (6) Observations and findings — click to expand
20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 Paper proposals, it is committed to understanding tenants’ perspectives and …
Government Response Summary
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.
21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 15% of rented homes, double what it was in 2019–20. …
Government Response Summary
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.
22
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 complaints with their local authority.51 However, we heard from tenant …
Government Response Summary
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.
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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; C&AG’s Report, para 2.14 50 C&AG’s Report, para 19 51 …
Government Response Summary
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.
25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 are lifted. Landlords have also suffered during the pandemic, for …
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and pressures faced by both landlords and tenants.
26
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 tenure, enforcement, and redress.60 However, it has not set out …
Government Response Summary
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.