Here is our last Newsround for November.
Rent Smart Wales deemed a success
The Welsh government celebrates 10 years of their Rent Smart Wales scheme and claim that it has ‘improved renting for all’ bringing in ‘higher standards, better informed landlords and stronger enforcement’ says cabinet secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant.
Other organisations are less inclined to agree. The NRLA stating that their enforcement is not unilateral and their communication can be ‘abrasive’. Others say that the number of rental properties registering under the Rent Smart Scheme is declining, and processes need to be simpler in order to comply.
According to data, 355 landlords have been prosecuted and more than £53,600 in rent repayment orders and more than 216,000 rental properties are registered under the scheme, issuing over 50,000 licenses.
Landlords put off EPC improvements – claim
Landlords could delay implementing any improvements to upgrade their EPC ratings on their rental properties now that the Renters’ Rights Act is imminent. August, a rental management app, claims that 62% of landlords will now spend less on their properties with 54% will delay or cut back on energy-efficient upgrade work.
This is coupled with the fact that there is still no confirmation from the government of any grants for landlords to assist them financially in carrying out energy-efficient works.
Samuel Cope, founder of August said
You cannot legislate for higher housing standards while pushing landlords into corners financially. Without targeted support, the Renters’ Rights Act risks slowing down green upgrades across millions of homes.
He further claims that 97% of landlords will increase rents due to higher costs coming out of the Renters’ Rights Act for landlords.
Housing benefit rates see no increase
The government has confirmed that the housing benefit rates will stay as they are for 2026/2027. This will see 1.7m tenants affected, where 53% have a differential between their housing benefit payment and their monthly rent. This will only increase the gap for low-income renters.
The Department of Work and Pensions Secretary announced this yesterday, despite over 40 organisations and charities calling for it to be unfrozen.
Ben Beadle of the NRLA was one of the campaigners who said that this will hit ‘low-income tenants the hardest’ and, with all the other changes within the Renters’ Rights Act makes everything ‘a deeply regressive package making life more difficult for renters across the country’.
Why the Renters’ Rights Act is a good thing
Not everyone is seeing the Renters’ Right Act as doom and gloom. A previous Propertymark president from ARLA, Angharad Trueman believes that there are lots of positives to come out of the new act.
For many years, landlords and agents have always operated to the disadvantage of many rogue landlords who have continually undercut the market, ignored health and safety compliance, offered substandard accommodation to the detriment of tenants and flouted licensing rules. She believes that this has kept standards low, distorted pricing and tarnished the reputation of the industry.
Trueman states that the new act will change all this with a national landlord database, stronger enforcement powers and much higher penalties in a ‘new regulatory environment far less forgiving’ and ‘market standards will be higher’. She sees the database and ombudsman as a good thing where tenants will be able to choose reputable landlords with confidence.
The new act will ‘re-shape the rental landscape’, and whilst she does not deny it will be a challenge, it is also a ‘real opportunity’.
Snippets
Budget 2025: what actually changed for landlords – and what didn’t
How ambitious ‘forest city’ plan for England could become a reality
Top 10 Landlord and tenant cases that still matter
Government sets rules on deposits and rent-in-advance for landlords in RRA
The death of the living: ‘It’s hard to invite people over – not everyone wants to sit on a bed’
Landlords invited to apply for £20,000 empty homes grants
See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law
Newsround will be back again next week
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