The Housing Minister Grant Shapps has recently announced that the Government has no plans to regulate agents in the private rented sector or proceed with a Landlords Register. Both of these policies were recommended in the Rugg Review of the Private Rented Sector, October 2008 and the previous Government were keen on implementing this change.
Supporting Good Landlords
Shapps went on to say: “With the vast majority of England’s 3 million private tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied that the current system strikes the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
So today I make a promise to good landlords across the country: the government has no plans to create any burdensome red tape and bureaucracy, so you are able to continue providing a service to your tenants.”
Empowering Local Councils to Combat Rogue Landlords
Instead, Shapps said he expects councils to use the range of powers available to them to tackle “rogue landlords”. These include requiring landlords to take action to rectify hazards in their property where landlords resist, the ability to make and charge for improvements and to prohibit use of the affected parts of the property; and discretionary licensing powers to tackle areas blighted by poorly managed privately rented stock.
