Background
On 22 May, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak MP, announced that a general election (GE) will take place on 4 July.
Parliament ended before the Renters (Reform) Bill could complete its passage, meaning it will not become law. It will now be up to the next Government to decide what shape reform of the private rented sector will take.
As political parties publish their manifestos and set out their vision for the private rented sector (PRS), we will regularly update this hub to keep you informed. We will also publish the NRLA’s own key asks for the PRS - a bold vision to boost rental supply, retain landlord confidence, and ensure accessible justice for both landlords and tenants.
About the Campaign
The NRLA is campaigning to ensure the Government’s plans to reform the private rented sector are fair and workable for both landlords and tenants.
We have identified several areas of concern within the Government’s proposals for rental reform that need to be addressed to ensure landlords have the confidence to remain in the sector.
We are calling on the Government to:
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End the anti-landlord rhetoric and back the majority of landlords providing good quality homes to rent.
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Address issues that will arise in the student housing market as a result of the plans to introduce periodic tenancies.
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Establish firm principles as to how local authorities and the police will deal with anti-social tenants.
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Reform the courts before the removal of Section 21 to tackle lengthy waits for possession.
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Abolish local licensing once the new Property Portal is introduced.
Our Impact
Following extensive campaigning by the NRLA, we have successfully influenced and shaped the Government’s proposals for rental reform.
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We engaged with high level officials at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, providing evidence at Government-led roundtables and select committee sessions.
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The Housing Minister Felicity Buchan MP stated that she shares the NRLA’s view that landlords’ right to repossess must be protected – and backs our stance on anti-social behaviour and the need for exemptions for student landlords when it comes to the abolition of fixed term tenancies.
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Our concerns and proposals about rental reform have been quoted in numerous select committee hearings and Westminster debates, as well as cited in several House of Commons research briefing papers.
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Following engagement with student representative bodies and organisations from across the higher education sector, we secured wide-ranging support on the impact the Government’s proposals for reform will have on landlords operating in the student housing market.
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In 2020, we produced our own White Paper ‘A New Deal for the Private Rented Sector’, which subsequently led the Government to recognise the need for court reform to ensure landlords are able to gain possession of their properties in an efficient and timely manner.
Get Involved
Find out if your local MP supports the Government’s proposals for rental reform by writing to them.
You can write to your MP using our online tool. Once you are logged into your membership account, the tool will automatically find your MP and ensure your letter follows parliamentary protocol.
Either write your own letter or copy and paste text from our template letters into the online tool and personalise it if you wish.
You can download the template letters by clicking the ‘MP Template Letters’ document below.
MP Template Letters
Last updated: 12/12/2023 at 13:56 - 109.10 KB
Rental Reform - MP Engagement Toolkit
Last updated: 15/07/2022 at 11:36 - 99.43 KB
Research
A New Deal for the Private Rented Sector
Last updated: 23/08/2021 at 15:00 - 2.23 MB
Decent Homes and The Private Rented Sector
Last updated: 23/05/2022 at 14:03 - 962.61 KB
Latest articles
The Big Question: What do you think of Government's Renters (Reform) Bill?
The Government published its Renters (Reform) Bill this week, years after pledging change in its election manifesto. Ahead of the publication of our summer magazine we want to know what you think of the plans. Are they workable? Are they fair? What needs to change? To have your say here.
Local authorities and enforcement: an inconsistent, uneven patchwork
This report is the latest stage of the NRLA's investigation into the enforcement of housing standards in the PRS. The report - based on Freedom of Information requests - ranks the service levels landlords can expect from over 275 English local authorities. The report finds landlords face variable levels of service. The service offered by many local authorities is letting down the PRS.
NRLA Chief Executive at Gove roundtable
Michael Gove invited NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle to attend a special meeting where the Housing Secretary outlined his vision for the future of the PRS and rental reform. The association was one of 10 organisations from across the property industry invited to the roundtable at the Home Office today where Ben addressed the Housing Secretary on landlords’ concerns.
Early bird tickets now on sale for the NRLA Landlord Conference 2023
Award winning journalist Clive Myrie will host this year’s NRLA Landlord Conference, taking place at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham on 24th October 2023.
Significant media coverage for NRLA over Government anti-social behaviour plans
This week the Government, as part of its rental reform plans, unveiled plans to give landlords enhanced powers to deal with anti-social behaviour in the private rented sector. As part of our wider push to ensure the Government takes into account our members’ views on this subject when drafting rental reform proposals, we mounted a comprehensive media campaign to get our point of view across to key stakeholders.
