London’s 2.7million private renters will only benefit from new legislation boosting their rights if councils properly enforce the law, the London Assembly has been told.
From May 1, new laws contained within the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) will come into force, including ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and fixed term contracts and only allowing one rent rise per year.
In future years, the Government will extend Awaab’s Law to private rentals – forcing landlords to act fast when homes are unsafe – as well as imposing a Decent Homes Standard to ensure landlords keep properties safe, warm and in good repair.
The changes, which will impact 11 million renters in England – including 2.7million in London – have been cautiously welcomed by organisations representing both tenants and landlords, though many have warned about the challenges regarding its implementation.
Niamh Evans, Policy Officer at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, told the London Assembly Housing Committee that the legislation represented “the most significant improvement to renter protections in more than a generation”.
“It will empower renters through lessening the fear that they may be evicted after asking for a repair, that they might be evicted as a retaliation, for example,” she added.
Ms Evans said renters in London will particularly benefit from increased protections, seeing as the capital’s boroughs accounted for seven of the 10 local authorities with the highest rate of private landlord claims.
The RRA also bans ‘bidding wars’ between potential tenants – currently, one in four London renters have to participate in such a process for the right to rent a property.
‘Only effective if it’s enforced’
However, the London Assembly heard how the benefits of the RRA will only be realised if local authorities have the resources, knowledge and will to enforce it against wayward landlords.
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“The act will only be as effective as how it is enforced, and that is our primary concern,” Ms Evans continued.
“In the three-year period to 2024, over a third of councils didn’t prosecute a single landlord. In the last three years, only one landlord in London was prosecuted for an illegal eviction.
“We have our work cut out in boosting capacity – that is our primary concern – and we would like councils to look at various opportunities to boost their enforcement by expanding selective licensing, which would allow them to look at the whole private rented sector instead of just HMOs.
“Selective licensing will remain a really important tool for councils, because it adds a stable source of funding and powers to inspect properties.”
Paul Williams, a national organiser at the ACORN union, which advocates for tenants, said current enforcement was “slacking”.
He added: “There are huge problems with how enforcement is currently carried out across the city – unless there is a strategy from City Hall and increased funding for local authorities, the concern will continue.
“Local authorities seem completely unprepared on how to deal with illegal evictions or enforcing the law as it stands at all. There’s a huge discrepancy [within London] – some local authorities do not use enforcement powers at all.
“There needs to be a strategy from City Hall on how boroughs can use these powers.”
Alva Gotby from the London Renters Union added: “If local authorities don’t have the means or will to enforce the Act, we could see a two tier system where the most vulnerable residents – students, disabled people, those who don’t speak English as a first language – are pushed into unregulated parts of the private rented sector.
“We need to make sure local authority officers have the correct training to implement the law.”
Council say it is a funding issues
During the hearing, council representatives from Tower Hamlets, Ealing, and Kensington & Chelsea all raised issues around a shortfall of funding and staffing when it came to implementing the changes.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), suggested increased funding for the courts – who will likely need to deal with a deluge of cases around evictions as well as other disputes between landlords and tenants – will be needed.
“Some 60 per cent of landlords have some knowledge of what is going on – there will be landlords out there who do need reaching out to, to ensure they comply to this seismic shift,” he told the London Assembly.
“Landlords have got to get a grip to make sure these reforms are a success. The reforms will hopefully bring security for renters and certainty for landlords. But we need greater investment in the courts system, which is on its knees.”
The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, also faced calls to take the lead in ensuring both tenants and landlords are well informed about the changes.
“The Mayor plays a vital role in creating the accountability for boroughs to implement and spread awareness of the RRA,” Ms Evans said, while Mr Beadle called on City Hall to commit to an annual report to analyse whether the reforms are proving successful in the capital.
