Renters will be saved from forking out up to £8,000 in upfront
rent thanks to new plans introduced to Parliament by the Labour
government today.
Currently, there is no limit to how many months' rent landlords
can require tenants to pay upfront to secure a property. This
loophole, coupled with high demand for rental properties, has
resulted in some landlords asking tenants to pay extortionate
sums of money upfront - in the form of several months' rent -
before securing a tenancy.
Deposit Protection Scheme data shows that, between May and
December last year, 1-in-8 surveyed landlords had asked for
between four and six months' rent upfront at one of their
properties. Labour analysis of Rightmove and HomeLet data shows
that for the average rental property this is the equivalent of
between £5,500 and £8,400, excluding security deposits.
Under new measures as part of Labour's Renters' Rights Bill, the
amount of rent landlords can demand in advance will be limited to
a maximum of one month's rent.
The bill also includes a raft of measures to boost renters'
rights, abolish no fault evictions, apply Awaab's Law to the
sector and ensure landlords do not unreasonably withhold consent
when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home.
Labour's Plan for Change will deliver for working people by
increasing living standards so that people have more money in
their pockets. We have set a milestone to build 1.5 million homes
in England which will be achieved by reforming the planning
system, working in partnership to deliver investment in housing
and infrastructure and delivering the biggest boost to social and
affordable housing in a generation.
Labour's actions stand in stark contrast to the previous
Conservative government who shelved plans to boost renters'
rights, leaving households exposed to spiralling costs and poor
housing. Kevin Hollinrake - the current Shadow Secretary of State
for Housing - courted controversy in 2022 by appearing to agree
with the statement that younger people ‘should move to a cheaper
area' to buy a house, and has also claimed that ending no-fault
evictions would increase rent prices.
MP, Secretary of State for
Housing, Communities and Local Government said:
“Labour will put an end to renters being charged eye-watering
up-front costs when they take on a new tenancy.
"Whilst the Tories completely failed to deliver on their promises
to renters and bowed to vested interests on their benches,
Labour's Renters' Rights Bill will transform the rights of
renters, ending rental bidding wars and ‘no fault evictions' for
good.
"Labour is getting on with our Plan for Change, increasing living
standards across the country and putting more money in working
people's pockets.”
ENDS
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