The government has admitted that its long-awaited rent reform White Paper won’t be published until the Spring – more than two and a half years after it was first announced.
While announcing its Levelling Up White Paper yesterday, Michael Gove admitted that plans for ending Section 21 evictions and giving all tenants a strong right to redress were still not finalised.
The raft of reforms were first announced in November 2019 and again in the Queen’s Speech in May 2021.
In the Levelling Up White Paper, it announced it would be, “Publishing a White Paper in the spring setting out how the UK government will support those in the Private Rented Sector including ending so-called ‘no-fault’ Section 21 evictions and giving all tenants a strong right to redress.
“It will explore proposals for new minimum standards for rented homes, introducing a National Landlord Register and taking tough action against rogue landlords.”
Gove say he would only provide more details once his department’s review into the planned Decent Homes Standard review had concluded.
Rogue landlords
In the Commons yesterday, Gove explained: “Our white paper this Spring will cut the number of poor-quality rented homes by half, will also address the injustice of no-fault evictions and bear down on rogue landlords.”
He added that it would deliver a “tough focus” on decent standards in rented homes by setting a decent minimum standard that all rented properties must meet.
However, Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Lisa Nandy (pictured), launched a vigorous attack on Gove’s levelling-up announcement, accusing the government of “fiddling the figures” and “cobbling together a shopping list of recycled policies”.
She added: “The system is completely broken and the government is out of ideas…these are recycled watered-down ambitions with some announcements that are so old – one is from 2008.”
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