CIEH welcomes Fairer Rented Sector White Paper

CIEH has strongly welcomed the publication of the UK Government’s Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper, which includes CIEH's central campaign call for a new property portal.

The Government says that the White Paper will ensure millions of families benefit from living in decent, well looked-after homes as part of the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in 30 years.

The move will redress the balance between landlords and the 4.4 million privately renting households across England, according to the Government.

Tenants will have stronger powers to challenge poor practice and unjustified rent increases under the proposals. They could also save the expense of having to move as often from one rented home to another.

Key initiatives in the White Paper include:

• Introducing a new property portal that will provide a single front door to help landlords to understand, and comply with, their responsibilities, as well as giving councils and tenants the information they need to tackle rogue operators
• A new Private Renters’ Ombudsman will be created to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, at low cost, and without going to court
• A new blueprint for Renters Reform that will end the injustice of unfit homes and help protect renters from the rising cost of living
• Banning section 21 “no-fault” evictions and extending the Decent Homes Standard to the sector
• Ending arbitrary rent review clauses, giving tenants stronger powers to challenge poor practice, unjustified rent increases, and enable them to be repaid rent for non-decent homes
• Making it illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits
• Make it easier for tenants to share their homes with pet

CIEH has been actively campaigning for a national register of all landlords and their properties since 2019, alongside better resourcing for local authority housing enforcement teams. CIEH is also a member of the Renters Reform Coalition, which is made up of 20 leading organisations that represent private renters.

Tamara Sandoul, Policy and Campaigns Manager at CIEH, said:

"We strongly welcome the publication of this White Paper and look forward to seeing these announcements translate into action. A property portal is the first step in better regulation and oversight over the private rented sector and will be a useful tool for both local authorities and prospective renters.

We are also heartened to see the Government’s commitment to better security and protection for tenants. The set of announcements should make a real difference to the millions of renters, who rightly would like to have a bit more stability and certainty whilst they are renting.

We look forward to working with the UK Government to ensure that the legislation does not leave any key loopholes and delivers on these ambitions quickly.”