A report examined the range of tools and legislative powers which English local authorities could (or were required to) use when dealing with the private rented sector. Although the tools available were appropriate, they were not always used to maximum effect by local authorities. More work was needed by local authorities and supporting organizations to ensure that councils followed best practice in using tools, and were able to overcome factors which limited their effectiveness.
Source: Ways and Means: Local authorities work with the private rented sector, Chartered Institute of Housing (024 7685 1700)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Dec
A collection of essays examined patterns of landlord and tenant law. It looked at the role that legislative, judicial, and policy developments, as well as market forces, had played in shaping the law.
Source: Susan Bright (ed.), Landlord and Tenant Law Past, Present and Future, Hart Publishing (01865 517530)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Oct
A report analyzed data on the people and households living in private rented accommodation, from the 2001 Census. The private rented sector housed 10.6 per cent of United Kingdom households. It was the tenure with the youngest age profile, and the most ethnically diverse.
Source: David Rhodes, The Modern Private Rented Sector, Chartered Institute of Housing (024 7685 1700) for Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Findings | CIH press release
Date: 2006-Oct
A report (by an official advisory body) proposed a new concept of 'tenant default' to define the circumstances in which a landlord might seek to terminate a tenancy before the end of its term.
Source: Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default, Cm 6946, Law Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Summary | Draft Bill
Date: 2006-Oct
A collection of workshop papers examined the regulation of the private rented sector in England and Wales. There was no single regulator who could be charged with ensuring compliance or encouraging responsible renting behaviour, and there were apparently few incentives for landlords to know or comply with the law.
Source: Martin Partington et al., Ensuring Compliance: The Case of the Private Rented Sector, Working Paper 06/148, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined the experiences of a number of local authority pilot projects seeking to develop the means to address 'problem' private renting.
Source: Dealing with Problem Private Rented Housing, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined how young people?s experiences of independent living were often spoiled as a result of poor property conditions and management practices in the private rented sector. It asked whether the private rented sector as it operated in England was an appropriate housing solution for young people, given the risks and nature of the conditions with which they often had to live.
Source: Diane Lister, 'Unlawful or just awful? Young people?s experiences of living in the private rented sector in England', Young, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-May
A collection of essays examined the role that a revived private rented sector could play in the supply of new homes.
Source: Peter Bill (ed.), More Homes for Rent: Stimulating supply to match growing demand, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-May
A report (by an official advisory body) examined the law relating to the existing forms of housing tenancies in the rented sector and their creation, terms and termination, with a view to its simplification and reform. It recommended the creation of a single social tenure, to enable social housing providers and private landlords to rent on identical terms. It also recommended a new ?consumer protection? approach which focused on the contract between the landlord and the occupier (the contract-holder), incorporating consumer protection principles of fairness and transparency.
Source: Renting Homes: The Final Report, LC297, Cm 6781, Law Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report vol1 | Report vol2 | Summary | Law Commission press release
Date: 2006-May
An annual survey report (for 2003) examined the characteristics of those who owned rented property in England, their approaches to letting property, their expectations for the future, and the problems they experienced.
Source: English House Condition Survey 2003: Private Landlords Survey, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Apr
An official advisory body began consultation on ideas for a more proportionate system for solving housing problems and resolving housing disputes.
Source: Housing: Proportionate Dispute Resolution - An issues paper, Law Commission (020 7453 1220)
Date: 2006-Apr
A report set out a 'new vision' for the private rented sector, focusing on encouraging growth and professional standards and tackling rogue operators effectively.
Source: New Directions for Renting: A new vision for the PRS, Crisis (020 7015 1800)and National Landlords Association
Links: Report | NLA press release
Date: 2006-Jan