Renters' Rights Bill

We welcome the Renters' Rights Bill but are concerned about the large enforcement burden that its provisions will impose on local authorities and the need for proportionate funding that is sustained and predictable. We are also promoting two amendments to the Bill that would remove unnecessary barriers to the use of licensing schemes to improve housing standards.

A full statement of our views on the Bill, which are based on policy positions adopted by our Housing Advisory Panel, can be found in our Lords second reading briefing.

What are we doing?

We are working to ensure the voice of environmental health professionals is heard during the passage of the Bill through parliament. Our actions include:

• Submitting briefings to parliamentarians at key stages of the Bill
• Submitting written evidence to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which scrutinised the legislation
• Providing oral evidence to the Public Bill Committee through Dr Henry Dawson, one of our expert panel members. This oral evidence is available to view online.

Two CIEH amendments on licensing have been tabled by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Shipley at the report stage of the Bill in the House of Lords. Lord Shipley, a Vice President of the Local Government Association and former Leader of Newcastle City Council, previously tabled and spoke on the amendments at committee stage - his speech is available to view online.

The discussion of these amendments at Lords committee stage followed Green MP Carla Denyer’s earlier contributions at the report stage of the Bill in the House of Commons, where she tabled and spoke on the same issues. She also introduced a similar amendment during the Commons committee stage. Her speech at the report stage can be viewed in this video from the House of Commons report stage, and her speech at the committee stage can be heard in this recording from the Commons committee stage.

We have met with the Minister who is leading on the Bill for the Government in the Lords. We also attended a roundtable with the Minister for Housing and Planning before the Bill was introduced.

We obtained backing from the Renters' Reform coalition, which comprises 19 organisations and includes major housing and homelessness charities as well as CIEH, for some of our key positions on housing enforcement and licensing.

What are we calling for

CIEH is calling for the following changes to strengthen the Renters’ Rights Bill:

• Ring-fenced funding for local authorities, based on the number of private rented sector dwellings registered in their areas.
• Use of fees from the private rented sector database and ombudsman schemes to fund local authority enforcement.
• Removal of barriers to the use of licensing schemes to improve housing standards (see our licensing campaign page).
• Permission for local authorities to conduct Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSR) inspections without 24 hours' notice.
• Access to Universal Credit information for local authorities for housing enforcement purposes.
• Mandatory guidance from the Secretary of State on the administering financial penalties.
• National landlord registration, supported by the proposed private rented sector database.
• Clarity and consolidation of housing standards, including the Decent Homes Standard, to help landlords, tenants and local authorities.

Further information

Find out more about what the Housing Advisory Panel is working on.