The report also states that more emphasis should be put on creating mixed communities so the most vulnerable households are not concentrated in areas of deprivation.
Commenting on the report, CB Richard Ellis believes that a viable built-to-let sector could address many of the problems identified in the report. Nick Jopling, head of CB Richard Ellis , commented: “The CLG Select Committee report is laudable for its attention to the rental sector but it does not go far enough
“Many of the problems identified in the report can be addressed by build-to-let. The concept is well tested and popular with investors in the US and sees developers earmark a discrete block of 100 purpose-built flats for the private rental sector. Blocks can either be kept as an investment by the developer or sold whole to another investor.”
The National Landlords Association (NLA), urged the private-rented sector to work harder to dispel the myth of rented housing as second-best.
Broadly welcoming the report, the NLA was pleased that the needs and aspirations of those who rent have now been acknowledged. However, it was concerned that the report failed to recognise the importance of local authorities to use their wide-ranging powers to tackle rogue landlords and sub-standard housing in the sector. Far from needing further regulation, professional landlords should be able to rely on their local councils to identify and clamp down on both bad landlords and tenants who give the whole sector a bad name.
