The Renters Reform Bill will help protect Londoners living in the
private rented sector, but more must be done with the Bill to
address affordability of rent in London.
The London Assembly believes that the Mayor
should be given greater powers within the Bill to further
regulate London’s private rented sector.
Because of this, it is today calling on the
Government to amend the Bill to give the Mayor powers to freeze
and control rents, and for the Mayor to continue engaging with
tenants and landlords to urgently establish the planned London
Rent Commission.
AM, who proposed the
motion, said:
“London’s private rented sector is in urgent need of
reform.
“We welcome provisions in the Renters Reform Bill to ban
no-fault evictions, finally bringing to an end Section 21. The
Government has missed an opportunity to bring the Decent Homes
Standard to the sector, which is home to over a third of
Londoners.
“One in five of London’s private rented homes are non-decent
and Londoners have waited long enough to be given protections
afforded by the standard.
“London’s private renters are also facing record high rents.
We encourage the Government to devolve power to the Mayor to
continue his work with landlords and tenants to urgently
establish a Rent Commission to address this crisis and set out
proposals for regulating London’s rents.”
The full text of the motion is:
The Assembly welcomes provisions within the Renters Reform Bill
to abolish section 21 evictions.
However, the Government first pledged to ban section 21 evictions
in April 2019 so it is disappointing that this is still yet to be
implemented more than four years on. Since April 2019, almost
10,000 Londoners have been threatened with eviction under section
21.[1] The Assembly notes that
the majority of households owed a homelessness duty by local
authorities and living in temporary accommodation are homeless
because they were evicted by their landlord serving a no-fault
section 21 eviction notice.
It's also concerning that the proposed Decent Homes Standard for
the private rented sector is not on the face of the Bill.
The Bill also does little to address affordability, with London’s
private rents increasing at around 15% in the past year – far
higher than wages. Local Housing Allowance rates have not
increased since 2020, forcing thousands of low-income Londoners
to top up benefits payments to cover their rent and being forced
to choose between keeping a roof over their heads, keeping the
lights on, or feeding their families.
Without action to tackle this issue, London faces an increase in
homelessness with rent increases coming within the context of a
broader cost of living crisis.
The Assembly notes that:
- Rents in London are at record
levels, with average asking prices reaching £2,500 for the first
time.[2]
- London’s private rented sector is
in crisis with demand vastly outstripping supply and too many
households living in poor quality accommodation.
- Private renting is the fastest
growing housing tenure in London[3]
and is vital to providing homes for Londoners. So, it’s vital
that regulation is strengthened so Londoners can access
high-quality, secure housing in the private rented sector
(PRS).
- That the Mayor is building a record
number of affordable homes, having met the targets of the
2015-2023 Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) of 116,000 starts,
contributing towards addressing London’s housing need.
This Assembly notes the need for London-specific solutions to the
crisis affecting the capital’s private rented sector; Government
has missed an opportunity to do this through the Renters Reform
Bill. To this end, the Assembly supports the Mayor’s call to be
granted the power to freeze and control rents in London.
The Assembly calls for:
- Government to amend the Renters
Reform Bill to grant powers to the Mayor of London to further
regulate London’s private rented sector, including the power to
freeze and control rents.
- Government to urgently bring
forward legislation to bring the Decent Homes Standard to the
private rented sector as proposed in the Renters Reform white
paper.
- The Mayor to continue work with
tenants and landlords to urgently establish the planned London
Rent Commission and to develop evidence for and models of
regulation for our city’s private rented sector.
- The Mayor to continue to lobby
Government to increase funding to London for the delivery of
affordable homes.
Notes to editors:
- DLUHC, Homelessness Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics
- Rightmove Rental Price Tracker: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/rental-price-tracker/
- ONS, Housing, England and Wales:
Census 2021
- Watch the full webcast.
- The motion was agreed 11 votes for and 8 votes against.
