Kemi Badenoch, who is the odds-on favourite to become the Conservative party leader, warns the Renters’ Rights Bill will cause chaos in the private rental sector.

Conservative leadership frontrunner Kemi Badenoch (main picture) has accused the Government of “breaking” the private rental market (PRS) with its Renters’ Rights Bill, which was debated by MPs for the first time yesterday.

Badenoch, who is the Shadow Housing Secretary, says the Bill will cause “chaos” in the PRS, and be a “powerful disincentive” for anyone to rent out their property.

She is one of two candidates in the final run-off ballot of Tory party members to become the leader after an MPs’ vote yesterday. And she is the odds-on favourite to win the ballot.

It will break the rental market. Good landlords will be pushed out.”
In a debate during the second reading of the bill, she said: “It will break the rental market. Good landlords will be pushed out.”

“It will pit landlords and tenants against each other,” she added, and attacked the Government for failing to carry out an impact assessment on the effects of the bill.

The Conservatives were keen to point out that legislation to regulate the PRS in Scotland had not worked.

And Badenoch admitted that the Renters’ (Reform) Bill put forward by the previous Conservative Government was flawed in that it proposed a ban on Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions before the courts were ready to cope with the alternatives.

Evictions fear

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Renters’ Rights Bill, which also contains the abolition of Section 21, would stop millions of people “living in fear” of eviction.

She said hundreds of thousands of people were living in temporary homes after being evicted by Section 21 notices. And she accused the Conservatives of “caving in” to backbench MPs and vested interests by failing to end Section 21 last year.

Rayner also rejected a call from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to introduce rent controls.

Industry comment

Isobel Thomson, Chief Executive of Safeagent, says: “The second Reading of the Renters’ Rights Bill saw the Government restate the content of the Bill but with no further detail on how it would be delivered or the impact it might have on the market.

“We welcome the acknowledgement from both sides of the House that enforcement is a key part of the delivery of safe and secure housing. However, we need it to be effective now and that is not happening, so how can we trust that the delivery of this Bill will change anything?

“As always, professional agents will perform their vital role in supporting the sector and ensuring their tenants and landlords understand their responsibilities so that tenancies are safe and secure.”

Nathen Emerson, CEO of Propertymark says: “The Renters’ Rights Bill represents a seismic change in legislation for those who choose to rent their homes and the near 2.8m landlords who provide properties within the private rented sector across the UK.

“As with all new laws, they must bring positive change and balanced outcomes for all parties involved. It is also crucial any amended laws are formulated in a way that encourages future investment, especially as we are seeing the overall population continue to grow at a rapid pace which is currently outstripping housing supply.

“In addition, there must be full provision to ensure new laws that affect renting homes are fully measurable in terms of effectiveness, take advantage of digitalisation and ultimately drive meaningful progression by delivering higher standards.”

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