Key Facts

• The Renters (Reform) Bill aims to abolish no-fault evictions but introduces new no-fault grounds like moving a family member in or selling the property.
• Grounds 1 and 1A allow landlords to give tenants two months' notice, which could lead to homelessness due to the current economic climate.
• The coalition suggests extending protection periods from six months to two years for rolling tenancies.
• Ending section 21 no-fault evictions is welcomed.
• A property portal will be established to track evictions, actual rents, and monitor landlord activity.
• The county court has a system for listing possession claims within eight weeks with fixed rules applied by judges.
• The median time for repossession cases in both section 21 and section 8 was about 22 weeks.
• Jasmine's case shows the potential benefits of extending notice periods to four months.
• The average cost to a renter of an unwanted move is £1,700.
• Twomey proposes waiving two months' rent for tenants undergoing no-fault evictions.
• Witnesses raised concerns about guarantors for tenants on low incomes.
• There are seven times more bidding wars now compared to five years ago, affecting 21% of tenants.
• The current Bill only provides a six-month protected period against no-fault evictions.
• Yvonne Fovargue introduces Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy for the British Property Federation.
• No specific action or proposal is made by Yvonne Fovargue.
• Build-to-rent sector has been catering to medium earners, key workers, and supporting core cities.
• The sector welcomes many aspects of the Renters (Reform) Bill but raises concerns about rent review clauses abolition and lack of minimum tenancy length.
• Fletcher's concern is based on anecdotal evidence rather than empirical research.
• Kate Henderson is chief executive of the National Housing Federation.
• The National Housing Federation represents housing associations providing 2.7 million homes to around 6 million people in England.
• Three quarters of all supported accommodation in the country is provided by housing associations.
• The National Housing Federation supports the abolition of section 21 but is concerned about unintended consequences for housing associations.
• Henderson's members manage 2.7 million homes.
• Some social housing types, such as intermediate rents and specialist supported housing, are not exempt from rent increase changes proposed in the Bill.
• The Bill proposes widening the definition of antisocial behaviour under ground 14 to any behavior 'capable of causing' nuisance or annoyance.
• The Government intends to require private rented homes to meet the decent homes standard.
• Legislation for this requirement will be brought forward at the earliest opportunity.
• There is concern about the potential consequences of a delay in implementing the decent homes standard.
• The decent homes standard provides clear criteria for housing condition that is measurable and easy to understand.
• Rent Smart Wales has an advisory panel including the CIEH.
• 85% of landlords own one to four properties.
• Some landlords exhibit a 'cult of amateurism' with varying levels of expertise.
• There is a lot of variation in licensing conditions for private landlords across different regions.
• Local authorities tailor their approach to suit their local market, but there is a need for more consistency between the licensing conditions set by them.
• The decent homes standard could provide common grounds for properties nationally if brought into the sector.
• There are about 2.2 qualified environmental health officers for every 10,000 private rented sector dwellings.
• Newham has around 100 environmental health officers or enforcement staff and can handle more than 200 prosecutions annually.
• Rent Smart Wales initially issued about 196 penalty notices and 13 prosecutions in the first couple of years due to unclear systems and processes.
• Landlords have the opportunity to exempt themselves from communications after registering, leading to a lack of updates.
• Dr Julie Rugg from the University of York expresses concern over the current focus on abolishing Section 21.
• The Bill does not prevent landlords from selling properties, which is a significant reason tenants are asked to leave.
• A lack of supply in the rental market is identified as one of the major issues and concerns about worsening supply issues post-abolition of Section 21.
• Professor Gibb's perspective stems from experiences in Scotland after introducing similar rental reforms.
• Research indicates that changes brought confidence to tenants but fundamental issues like shortage and high rents remain unchanged.
• An international evidence review suggests little direct evidence linking increased regulation to disinvestment in the private rented sector.
• The statement introduces Fiona Rutherford, chief executive of JUSTICE.
• Professor Christopher Hodges OBE is an emeritus professor of justice systems at the University of Oxford.
• Yvonne Fovargue leads a session until 16:30 for oral evidence.
• Court performance during the pandemic was better than most jurisdictions.
• Section 21 currently takes roughly 28 weeks from notice to repossession.
• The new approach in the Renters (Reform) Bill is estimated to take possibly a week less than section 21.
• The ombudsman deals with codes of behaviour rather than just legal rights.
• Ombudsmen collect data which provides real-time feedback about issues within regulated sectors.
• There are three existing ombudsmen in the property and housing sector.
• Professor Hodges proposes having one ombudsman for the entire property and housing sector.
• The current system includes multiple ombudsmen such as the Property Ombudsman and Private Rented Redress Scheme.
• Other sectors like financial services and energy have converging regulatory bodies working together effectively.
• Health justice partnerships provide legal support in doctors' surgeries for patients facing non-medical issues.
• Ombudsmen can deliver faster, user-friendly, free dispute resolution compared to courts or lawyers.
• The cap on ombudsman awards should be relevant and amendable over time to ensure proper compensation.
• James Prestwich is the director of policy and external affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing.
• The CIH believes the balance in the private rented sector is tipped too far in favour of landlords rather than tenants.
• Witnesses have stressed that one of the biggest causes of homelessness is the ending of a tenancy via section 21.
• The CIH recommends extending the two-month notice period under ground 8A.
• Witnesses provided expert testimony during the session.
• The session was ordered to be adjourned until Thursday 16 November.