Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in
designing and tendering for the new Private Rented Sector
Ombudsman Service.
(Lab)
My Lords, in begging leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper, I declare an interest as the chair of
the Property Ombudsman for tenants and those in the PRS whose
landlords use agents.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Levelling Up, Housing & Communities () (Con)
The Renters (Reform) Bill allows the Government to select a
scheme through open competition or to appoint a provider to
deliver a designated scheme. In Commons Committee, we announced
our preference to deliver through the Housing Ombudsman service,
which provides social housing redress. However, no final decision
has been made, and our priority is choosing a provider that
offers the high-quality and value-for-money service we
require.
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for her reply. I very much support what the
Government are doing to establish a landlord ombudsman for the
private rented sector; it is long overdue. Given that the new
ombudsman will cover the whole of the rental sector—the one for
social landlords has been indicated as the preferred option—can
the Minister confirm that the Government will consult existing
ombudsmen in the sector on the rationalisation, and can she
explain how they will fit into the new landscape? Can she confirm
that the Government’s final decision in selecting an organisation
to provide a unitary ombudsman service for the combined social
and private rented sectors will follow the formal public
procurement process? What will the timescale be?
(Con)
The noble Baroness asked a number of questions. First, we have
sought extensive procurement and legal advice on this, and we are
confident that the approach we are taking is in line with
procurement regulations. I can only reiterate that this work is
still in its very early stages, and no decisions have been made.
Of course, we will talk to stakeholders throughout the whole of
the process. If the noble Baroness or any other noble Lord would
like to meet me and my team, I am happy to do so as we go
forward.
Secondly, the question on the interaction between schemes is very
interesting. We envisage that, where a complaint covers both
landlords and letting agents, the separate schemes will work
together to triage the complaint effectively and, if necessary,
have a joint investigation. Importantly, we want to make sure
that, where it is not clear which scheme a tenant should complain
to, there is no wrong access point. We will work together to make
sure that the tenant gets the service that they require.
(Con)
My Lords, I too welcome the Bill’s proposal to establish a
private rented sector ombudsman service. There will be an
opportunity when the Bill reaches your Lordships’ House to
discuss the issues raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, as
to where this service should best be provided. What powers will
the ombudsman have to enforce his or her findings? Who will bear
the cost?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend. He is absolutely right: the Bill will
come to this House shortly and I am sure we will have many more
debates on this issue. As far as powers are concerned, the Bill
says that the ombudsman’s enforcement powers will be to expel the
landlord from membership of the organisation unless they deal
with their obligations and then rejoin, and they will be liable
for civil and, in the worst cases, legal penalties if they
continue to operate without that membership. Those are quite
strong powers that will back up local authorities’ powers. On the
scheme’s funding, it will be a landlord membership scheme, as is
the Housing Ombudsman scheme. Membership of that scheme is at
£5.75 per unit.
(Lab)
My Lords, when the Government’s new or expanded ombudsman is
established, it will have to work closely with local authorities
and will have enforcement responsibilities, but it is important
that that work is not duplicated. Does the Minister have any
plans for the department to issue guidance on how local
authorities and the ombudsman can work together? How do the
Government propose to resource the new ombudsman service, given
the potential increase in demand that may emerge?
(Con)
Of course we will work with the local authorities as the Bill
moves forward. The ombudsman will complement local authority
decisions and back them up.
(Lab)
My Lords, I very much welcome the expansion of the ombudsman
service. My worry about what appears to be a decision by the
Government is that representatives of private tenants, which will
be different from the ones dealt with already, will not get a
voice if there is no open procurement. I hope the Government will
look to representatives of private rented accommodation to ensure
that they are involved in the choice of ombudsman so that it fits
that particular client group.
(Con)
My Lords, of course we will, but what is important is the
tenants, who sometimes do not know where to go. In my opinion and
that of the department, it is important that they have one front
door and that they get the services they require.
(LD)
My Lords, can the Minister give us some idea of the timetable by
which these things will come into force? In the meantime, Section
21 evictions are continuing, private tenants are at a major
disadvantage and landlords are, it appears, accelerating their
use of Section 21 to pre-empt the incoming legislation, so the
settlement of these issues is really important. Can she give us
some help on when we will actually see an ombudsman in post
working and dealing with the complaints that private tenants very
legitimately have?
(Con)
That is a really important question with a very simple answer: we
intend to have the redress available as soon as we can after the
Bill receives Royal Assent. We are working on that strongly at
the moment, because it is an important service for tenants.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest in the private rented sector. Can
my noble friend the Minister tell us how the private sector will
be made aware of this new process, if and when this new policy is
implemented?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend. It will need a lot of communication. We
have already had Make Things Right in the social rented sector,
which has increased people’s awareness of the scheme to 63% from
below 55%. We will continue that campaign. As we move to a new
ombudsman for the private rented sector, we will continue to have
a strong campaign to ensure that all rented sector tenants
understand their rights.
