A wide-ranging package of measures aimed at tackling the most pressing difficulties in private sector housing has been set out in the draft Housing Bill.
According to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Bill is intended to ensure that action is taken against unacceptably low housing standards, the effect of bad landlords upon local communities, and the stress in buying and selling a home.
Housing Minister Jeff Rooker has stated that four-fifths of households in England and Wales reside in the private sector, be it in rented or ownier-occupied homes.
He believes that, while “responsibility for these homes rests first and foremost with the homeowner or the landlord, the government must ensure that those in the private sector, as much as those in social housing, have the opportunity of a decent home”.
The Bill, which has a 10-week consultation period, addresses the following issues:
● the improvement of conditions within houses in multiple occupation through the introduction of a mandatory licensing scheme;
● management standards, the fitness of the licensee, and the physical condition of the premises, including adequate fire safety and kitchen facilities, and decent living conditions;
● modernising the role of local authorities in assessing poor housing conditions – the Bill provides for the replacement of the existing housing fitness standard with an evidence-based housing health and safety rating system;
● the effect that bad tenants and landlords within the privately rented sector can have upon local communities;
● assistance for people buying and selling homes; home information packs will make the process more certain, transparent, and consumer friendly, as well as helping to reduce stress and wasted costs;
● introducing changes to the “right to buy” scheme by extending the periods for qualification and repayment on early resale;
● the introduction of a Social Housing Ombudsman for Wales, to investigate complaints against registered social landlords.
References: PLS News 4/4/03
