The fair trading watchdog said that the sale-and-rent-back sector needed statutory regulation, with better protection for consumers. The government said that it accepted the recommendations in full. (Sale-and-rent-back schemes involve home-owners selling their property to specialist firms at a discount in return for tenancy rights.)
Source: Sale and Rent Back: An OFT market study, Office of Fair Trading (0870 606 0321) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 22 October 2008, columns 9-10WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | OFT press release | Hansard | Shelter press release | CML/Citizens Advice press release | NLA press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report | Residential Landlord report
Date: 2008-Oct
An independent (government-funded) review of private rented housing made recommendations designed to improve the quality of the sector. It called for a 'light touch' licensing system for landlords and mandatory regulation for letting agencies, to increase protection for both vulnerable tenants and good landlords; and a new independent complaints and redress procedure for consumers, to help end long-drawn-out disputes.
Source: Julie Rugg and David Rhodes, The Private Rented Sector: Its Contribution and Potential, Centre for Housing Policy/University of York (01904 433691)
Links: Report | Summary | CHP press release | DCLG press release | CIEH press release | Centre for Cities press release | Homeless Link press release | BPF press release | NUS press release | FT report | Guardian report | Letting News report | Residential Landlord report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the supply of rented housing. It said that it would publish a Green Paper on housing reform towards the end of 2008, setting out proposals to provide housing services and options which helped and encouraged people towards greater economic independence and social mobility.
Source: Government Response to the Communities and Local Government Committee's Report: The Supply of Rented Housing, Cm 7326, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report (by an official advisory body) contained final proposals on better regulation of the private rented sector. It proposed a system of self-regulation designed to enhance voluntary initiatives already in place, leaving open the option of future reform to create a compulsory system. It was intended that implementation of the proposals would harmonize and simplify the existing system in an affordable way, with benefits to both landlords and tenants.
Source: Housing: Encouraging Responsible Letting, Cm 7456, Law Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Summary | Law Commission press release | BPF press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2008-Aug
A think-tank report examined what could be done to bring new, affordable private rented properties on to the market. It looked at the important underlying market trends; the way the sector was funded; the prospects for emerging sub-sectors (such as buy-to-let and student housing); planning, licensing, and regulatory issues; and how to balance the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants.
Source: Peter Bill, Paul Hackett and Catherine Glossop (eds.), The Future of the Private Rented Sector, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report (by an official advisory body) recommended a series of law reforms designed to improve the resolution of housing problems and disputes.
Source: Housing: Proportionate Dispute Resolution, LC309/Cm 7377, Law Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Law Commission press release
Date: 2008-May
A report by a committee of MPs called for a big expansion in the number of rented homes, with 50,000 extra properties mainly for families to be built every year to meet the country's housing shortage. Homes for rent should no longer be seen as 'housing of the last resort', or as 'second best' to owner-occupation.
Source: The Supply of Rented Housing, Eighth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 457, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Shelter press release | NHF press release | BPF press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2008-May
A report investigated the reasons for tenancy breakdown among homeless people, through interviews with tenants and landlords. It said that many people on low incomes renting privately were being forced to live in slum-like conditions, and struggled to find a decent, affordable place to live.
Source: Julie Rugg, A Route to Homelessness?, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Summary | BPF press release
Date: 2008-Apr
A report summarized the composition, experience, and views of private landlords regarding letting and maintenance of their property (from the English House Condition Survey 2006). 'Sideline' landlords with small portfolios continued to dominate the sector, with 'buy to let' stimulating the entry of inexperienced small landlords. The sector had a high level of 'churn' regarding tenants, properties, and landlords: more than a quarter of all landlords (and one-third of individual landlords) had been letting for less than 5 years.
Source: English House Condition Survey 2006: Private Landlords Survey, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Apr
A report said that deposit guarantee schemes could play a key role in tackling housing need in Scotland at a time when rising interest rates were putting more people at risk of repossession and homelessness. There were already 28 deposit guarantee schemes in Scotland that gave homeless or vulnerably housed people access to the private rented sector by guaranteeing the deposit to landlords.
Source: Diane Graham, Deposit Guarantee Schemes in Scotland, Crisis (020 7015 1800)
Links: Crisis press release
Date: 2008-Feb
The government commissioned an independent review of the problems tenants and landlords faced in the private rented sector, and what worked well in the sector. The review would look at how the increasing number of buy-to-let accommodation and student tenants had affected the private rented sector, the quality of homes, and who the users of the sector were. It would also examine the impact of demographic and social change on future demand and supply in the sector.
Source: Press release 23 January 2008, Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 3000)
Links: DCLG press release | BPF press release
Date: 2008-Jan