Rental reforms’ risk to student housing

COMMENT The government is seemingly poised to finally fulfil its election pledge to end no-fault evictions and bring through a raft of rental reforms. After releasing a white paper on the subject last year, government has published its Renters’ Reform Bill, which will fundamentally change the private rented sector. We can all agree that renters have the right to secure and high-quality homes that they can call their own, where they can put down roots, free from the worry of the upheaval and cost of an unexpected eviction. The reforms set out in the Bill go some way to doing this, however with any sweeping policy changes there are always kinks to iron out. While we await the second reading in the House of Commons, in challenging market conditions, it is vital we take the time to ensure the reforms can truly deliver for renters while maintaining the pipeline of high-quality homes. Reasonable balance Student housing could be a part of the rental market most impacted by the reforms. The abolition of fixed-term contracts could make letting to students considerably less attractive to private landlords and so ultimately push up rents or reduce the availability of student rental properties, at a time when the market in many university towns and cities is already very tight. An exemption from periodic tenancies, which has already been applied to purpose built student accommodation, should be extended to the entire student housing sector. Last year the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee called for evidence from across the sector. Its latest report has handed the government important, evidenced and well-considered recommendations on how to improve the reforms set out in the original white paper and avoid adverse unintended consequences. The government is yet to respond to the committee report, despite it being long overdue. The committee starts the report by stating that a reasonable balance needs to be struck between security of tenure for tenants and a degree of certainty for landlords. The current government proposal is to scrap section 21 (no-fault evictions) and allow tenants to give just two months’ notice before leaving, effectively creating a scenario where people could use properties as short-term lets, rather than homes. The committee proposed a sensible recommendation of a total of six months’ notice at the start of a tenancy but two months’ notice thereafter. See you in court The committee rightly recognised that groups such as the British Property Federation accept the abolition of section 21, but that this is predicated on the courts working better. At present, the section 21 process mostly avoids the courts. Under the reforms, all reasons for landlords wanting their property back – rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, using the property themselves – will have to go to court. It is time-consuming, cumbersome and expensive. Across the board it is recognised that the courts are broken and hearings can drag on for more than a year. The urgency of reform in this area was rightly highlighted by the committee, but there is massive concern in the industry that little progress has been made to speed up and enhance the court system. If the reforms are to have any chance of working, government must make swift progress on court reform and, as the committee recommends, court users should be given minimum service standards for what is one of the most important services in a democracy – access to justice. Overall, many of the reforms mandate things that institutional landlords do already. Providing high-quality, stable homes is the goal of institutional investors, and with the right reforms delivered in the right way there is potential to increase the standards across the wider private rented sector. However, the big question that isn’t in the scope of the reforms is tackling the issue of supply. This fundamental question was picked up by the committee report but that is perhaps a focus for another bill, another article and another white paper. Time and again the solution to the problem that the reforms seek to address is to build more homes. Theo Plowman is assistant director at the British Property Federation Image: British Property Federation