Councils ‘lack central government support’ in regulating private rented sector
0The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is not doing enough to support local authorities in regulating the private rented sector in England, according to a report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
It suggests that DLUHC “does not have a good enough understanding of what regulatory approaches work at local level to help local authorities ensure that landlords comply with their obligations”. A “more proactive” approach by the department is needed to support local regulators and share best practice.
The private rented sector in England has doubled in size in the last 20 years and now houses 11 million people. But this has not been matched by effective regulation.
Councils do not have the “capacity and capability” to provide appropriate levels of protection for tenants in privately rented accommodation, the report suggests. Legislative powers used by local authorities are complex and spread across multiple enforcement bodies, creating a “fragmented and disempowered regulatory system”.
The PAC said that safe housing was “too often out of reach” for private renters. Tenants were unable to “realise their right to a safe and secure home” due to an “inaccessible and complex regulatory framework and the threat of retaliatory eviction”.
“Regulation by local authorities is under capacity and not providing appropriate and consistent protection for tenants. The sector is a postcode lottery of local authority enforcement, with 21% of all privately rented homes in one region estimated to be severely unsafe,” the report states.
The PAC suggested that DLUHC did not know what level of resourcing was needed for local authorities to regulate their rental markets. It called on the department to make a “realistic assessment” of the resources needed for local authorities to regulate effectively and to update the committee within the next six months.
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