The government's reforms to renters' rights are a welcome step, but MPs say ministers must go further to protect tenants, including the most vulnerable, in the private rented sector. The findings come from a report published today by the cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee.
The Housing Conditions in the Private Rented Sector report calls on the government to introduce incentives for landlords and strengthen deterrents against breaches, with the aim of speeding up compliance with the new Decent Homes Standard ahead of its 2035 deadline.
The committee also wants Awaab's Law rolled out across the private rented sector in 2026, so that legal timescales for landlords to resolve hazards are fully in place by the end of 2028/29.
"The government's reforms to renters' rights are welcome and can make an important contribution to improving housing conditions for tenants, helping people to live in safe and secure homes where they are treated fairly by their landlords," said Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee.
"However, more needs to be done to ensure that the new tenants' rights are enforceable and that landlords play by the rules. Stronger and more proactive regulation and enforcement of standards by local authorities is needed to improve conditions for tenants.
"The government needs to play its part by ensuring councils have the resources to do this job effectively and that the upcoming Private Rented Sector Database gives tenants the tools they need to check that their home is suitable and safe."
"Far too many private renters are living in homes that are sub-standard," she added. "Poor conditions in the rented sector are ultimately a symptom of the nation's wider housing crisis, especially the lack of social and affordable housing. The government needs to come forward with the long-term housing strategy and set out a credible plan to address the drivers of poor housing conditions."
Report findings on the private rented sector
Too much responsibility currently falls on individual tenants to take action against their landlord, the report finds, whether through the courts, their local authority or the ombudsman. Alongside the New Burdens funding already provided, the committee wants the government to carry out and publish a full assessment of the resources and powers available to local authorities to regulate and enforce standards in the sector.
On the government's new minimum energy efficiency standard, the report warns that its impact could be undermined if councils are not properly resourced to enforce it.
MPs also want the government to raise its ambitions for the Private Rented Sector Database, turning it into a genuine tool for driving up standards and giving tenants clear information on landlord fitness, home quality and how to report concerns.
Selective licensing remains a useful tool that local authorities can use to proactively target enforcement at areas with the poorest housing conditions, the report notes, and more targeted enforcement could help protect vulnerable tenants who may struggle to advocate for themselves.
The committee's other priorities include:
- removing barriers that limit how selective licensing schemes are used, so councils can deploy them more easily
- protecting renters at the lowest end of the market from rent increases and other unintended consequences of the recent reforms
- ensuring the First Tier Tribunal's protections against above-market rent increases are
- working effectively, rather than introducing rent controls
- unfreezing Local Housing Allowance and setting it at least at the 30th percentile of market rents to protect lower-income households
The committee warns that retaliatory rent increases could act as a form of economic eviction for renters already struggling to afford their homes, though it stops short of recommending rent controls. Instead, it argues the government's immediate priority should be making existing tribunal protections work effectively.
"We welcome the Committee's recognition that most renters are satisfied with their homes, and the majority of landlords provide safe, decent and comfortable homes," said Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
"The Committee is right to argue that improving standards requires a mix of incentives to support landlords to meet the planned Decent Homes Standard sooner than 2035, whilst improving enforcement to root out rogue and criminal landlords that have no business operating within the sector."
"We are pleased that the Committee has taken heed of several of the NRLA's recommendations on enforcement, including the need to better understand council capacity, improve transparency around local enforcement activity, and ensure the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database helps responsible landlords to demonstrate compliance," he added.
"That said, we fundamentally reject the idea that it should be easier for councils to introduce landlord licensing schemes. Licensing can be an effective tool when used sparingly and in a focused manner. Allowing local authorities carte blanche to apply it will serve only to duplicate the information councils will be able to obtain from a well-designed PRS Database."
"More broadly, we welcome the Committee's calls for the courts to be properly resourced to cope with the impact of the Act, and its rejection of calls for rent controls," Beadle said. "As it rightly concludes, they would undermine the supply of affordable properties.
"We agree with the Committee that the focus must instead be on ensuring the rental appeals tribunal processes cases far quicker than they do at present."
