NRLA meets with new housing minister
NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle and Policy Director Chris Norris met with new housing minister Rachel Maclean to talk rental reform, in particular the loss of the fixed term and how this will affect landlords.
Also on the table were court reform, anti-social behaviour and landlord confidence, which is falling fast as a result of mortgage hikes, tax and the cost-of-living crisis.
The talks follow a meeting between Ben and housing secretary Michael Gove on the government’s rental reform plans, with Mr Gove keen to find out more about the association’s proposals around anti-social behaviour, and committing to work with the NRLA to strengthen provisions.
The meeting with Rachel, who has taken over the lead on the PRS brief from Felicity Buchan, followed on from this, as an opportunity to take a deep dive into the issue of student lets and the potentially devasting impact of rental reform on the sector.
What is the issue?
The NRLA is concerned that the loss of the fixed term – a key pillar of the government’s proposals – will mean student landlords have no guarantee of getting their property back at the end of an academic year, making it almost impossible to arrange tenancies with new students for the next.
NRLA CEO Ben Beadle & housing minister Rachel Maclean
Currently 27 per cent of students live in PRS homes and Ben has warned there is a real risk that the change – as proposed in the rental reform white paper – could decimate market, something already being seen north of the border in Scotland, where landlords are selling up, sending rents for remaining student properties soaring.
Acoording the NRLA data taken from a survey of 3,200 landlords on rental reform 82% of student landlords said they would leave of consider leaving the market if the bill goes ahead as proposed in the government's white paper.
An exception to the loss of the fixed term has already been proposed for Purpose Built Student Accommodation and the NRLA is asking for this to be mirrored to the PRS.
It also wants a specific ground for repossession for student tenancies, and a fixed period at the start of the tenancy that means the tenant can’t serve notice within the first two months for all tenancies.
The association believes these changes are vital if landlords are to retain confidence in the system, with the calls already attracting significant support from across universities and student accommodation services across the country.
Universities UK, Unipol, the University of Cambridge and universities as far afield as Manchester, Leeds, Lancaster and Southampton have already co-signed a letter from the NRLA to the housing minister echoing its concerns and throwing their weight behind the calls for change.
The NUS’s vice-president for higher education has also spoken on the issue, warning in December that the “unprecedented” housing shortage was “jeopardising students’ university experience and forcing them to make difficult decisions”.
Ben said: “Following a really positive meeting with the Housing Secretary this month it was great to be back in Whitehall to meet with the housing minister to discuss issues that matter to our members.
“The issue with student lets is a pressing one, but there are relatively simple adjustments that could be made to the proposals to give landlords the confidence to stay in the market.
“There are already cities where the number of students far outweigh the available accommodation, and I warned that without change to the proposals there is a real risk of landlords selling up, leaving future generations of students with simply nowhere to live.
“An exodus of student landlords from the market – as we have seen in Scotland – would push rents up in the student homes that do remain, making it even harder for those from economically disadvantages backgrounds to find somewhere to live.
This just isn’t right and it’s something we need to we need to tackle before the bill is published, not after to support both landlords and students.
“We will continue to work alongside the Government to develop positive, practical solutions to issues within the sector to create a PRS that works for landlords and tenants alike.”
The housing minister, tweeting after the meeting, said: “We are determined to get these once-in-a- generation reforms for renters and landlords right, and that’s why I spend time working with both groups in depth.”
The meeting comes after the influential Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee revealed it was adopting a number of NRLA proposals on rental reform as recommendations to government. Committee chair Clive Betts joins us on the next episode of NRLA podcast Listen Up Landlords, out next week to explain why NRLA proposals are so important.
There will still no official date for the publication of the Renters’ Reform Bill, although it was reported this week that an autumn date is likely.
More information
For more information on the NRLA rental reform campaign click here and keep an eye on our news site and social media channels for more information.
