Another week passes and here we are at another Newsround. Let’s see what has caught our eye this week.
Delays in eviction increase
Government data states that the average time for a private landlord to evict a tenant currently stands at more than eight months in the last quarter of 2024, with an average wait over the past four years being 36.4 weeks or 8.4 months.
The Telegraph claim that the current court waiting times is now 32 weeks and there is huge concern among the private rented sector that this will only get worse once the Renters Rights Bill is passed.
Chris Norris of the NRLA said
If court users are to have any confidence at all in these reforms, we need to see a clear definition of court readiness, minimum performance standards for the justice system and a plan for how those standards will be met. Without this, the bill risks creating a system that fails both tenants and landlords alike.
Even the Justice Minister has admitted that the courts are ‘not where they need to be’, yet the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook claims that the government is working hard to prepare the courts in time for the new Bill which includes digitising the court paperwork stating
We want to reduce demand on courts, with reforms to make sure that only cases with a clear ground for possession will be able to proceed.
Average monthly rental increases
A new record high has been reached on rents outside of London where the average is now £1349 per month. Rent in London is now 2.5% higher than it was this time last year according to Rightmove.
Christian Balshen claims that the Renters Rights Bill will have little impact on the rental market in general but with the banning of rent in advance it will make things more difficult for some tenants to move. But landlords all still want good tenants that are reliable.
Lord John Bird, founder of Big Issue said
Landlords who are already providing quality accommodation for their tenants have rightly recognised that these reforms leave them little to worry about, and the lucrative income that can be gained from the current rental market remains a clearly attractive proposition.
He also said that ‘now is the time to rebalance the landlord-tenant scales of power’ with the abolition of section 21.
Renters’ Rights Bill will put more rentals in need of improvements
A new survey out by ECC Paragon claims that once the Renters Right Bill becomes law many private rental properties will fall below the proposed Decent Homes Standard. The figures for London are 11.6% of homes but increases significantly to 31% in the North West of England.
As standards are driven up by the new Bill Bekki Leaves of FCC Paragon says
Nobody can argue that the introduction of a Decent Homes Standard is anything but a positive move for the UK rental market and it will help ensure that all landlords provide a home fit for purpose, with functioning heating, working facilities, and an absence of dangerous hazards.
Local councils will have the authority to uphold and improve standards.
Knowledge gap amongst renters on the Renters Right Bill
Housing Hand, a UK rental service service provider claims out of 1,700 tenants that they questioned, a staggering 69% of renters know nothing about the Renters Reform Bill and 75% are clueless on how it could impact them. Some of their other statistics are quite shocking:-
- 46% are unaware of how deposit schemes work
- 63% do not know how long it takes to get their deposit back
- 34% did not know what a guarantor was for
- 58% of renters did know what they would do if they could not pay their rent
- 33% of renters did know what would happen if they paid their rent late
Graham Hayward of Housing Hand said
There is a significant opportunity here for landlords and others in the sector to work with renters for the benefit of all those involved in the rental process.
Snippets
Government’s HMO plans risk undermining housing supply
Shelter names ‘fearless’ charity firebrand as new chief executive
Rogue landlord left tenant without heating and hot water for a year
Homelessness crisis set to soar as Shelter calls for 90,000 social homes a year
Solar panels to be fitted on all new-build homes in England by 2027
Lords warn court system could take five years to fully digitise under Renters’ Rights Bill
See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law
Newsround will be back again next week