In a Private Members Bill, the Home Energy Conservation Bill, due for Second Reading in the House of Commons, Dr Desmond Turner is seeking to treat any private house or flat rented out to unrelated individuals as Houses in Multiple Occupation, or HMOs.
Until now, HMOs have been commonly perceived as being either hostel style accomodation or bedsits but the Bill will try to impose on small private residences the same hotel-style licensing and building standards expected for genuine HMOs. This follows the introduction of harsh Scottish legislation for HMOs that is already driving landlords away from supplying the market for sharers.
According to the new ARLA survey, 13 per cent of all rental properties are occupied by sharers in the tenancies that are arranged by ARLA member letting agents. This is thought to apply to at least a quarter of a million people renting through ARLA members alone. If the proposed legislation passes the Commons, most of these sharers will be required to move as their landlords follow the Scottish example and let only to couples or ‘bona fide’ families.
The survey also showed up the continuing failure of the Housing Benefit system. Agents report that three quarters of their landlords give instructions not to accept housing benefit tenants. This is due to the flaws in the system. It is not a reflection on individual applicants.
"Government priorities are all wrong," ARLA chairman John Crossley told delegates at the ARLA Annual Conference last week when he revealed the results of the survey. "Since the Housing Act 1988, the Private Rented Sector has been running well and the ARLA blueprint for lettings established over the last 20 years safeguards the monies and the health and safety of tenants and landlords."
Crossley pointed out that, according to the government’s own research, tenants express greater levels of satisfaction with private landlords than either local authority or regulated social landlords.
"Despite this, proposed legislation will make sharers homeless. The failure to clean up the housing benefit system will prevent a whole section of the population from having any choice in housing by proper use of the Private Rented Sector and private sector landlords will start worrying for no good reason, yet. This is valueless regulation," he said.
