‘Reform of the private rented sector needs to be treated as a national emergency’

• ALTHOUGH we are long-time advocates and supporters of rent control in the private rented sector we would not recommend using the current “fair rent” system that covers 1977 Rent Act tenancies as mentioned by Maria Emilia Jennings, (Private landlord subsidy, June 20).

Many of our older members who have to deal with this system, administered on behalf of the government by the Value Office Agency, tell us that it is extremely bureaucratic, not tenant-friendly, and it requires a degree in mathematics to understand the formula used by rent officers to work out the increases that can be applied for by private landlords every two years.

Also the rent formula they use is 5 per cent plus inflation and, as we all know, the latter has been extremely high in recent years.

So these two amounts taken together mean tenants have been facing eye-watering rent increases of around 20 per cent, which has created fear and anxiety among a group of people who are surviving on very modest state and occupational pensions and ever-diminishing savings pots, assuming they have any money put aside at all.

But the one good thing about these regulated / rent act tenancies is they are not subject to the benefit cap in the way that assured shorthold ones are; meaning if these tenants do receive housing benefit it should cover all of the rent even in an expensive place like Camden.

While on the subject of housing benefit, we agree with Jennings that continuing to hand over extremely large amounts of taxpayers’ money to private landlords is completely and utterly ridiculous; and believe that reform of the private rented sector needs to be treated as a national emergency.

With regards to converting one type of tenancy to another, we understand it does require legislation or, at the very least, amendments to be made to the existing rules. Hence our efforts trying to get the Renters (Reform) Bill passed into law to end the much hated assured shorthold tenancy.

Given the sheer amount of time it can take to get draft bills through parliament, it would not be an immediate solution to the problem in the way the letter writer hopes it would.

ROBERT TAYLOR
Organiser, Camden Federation of Private Tenants