APPG for Housing in the North holds Parliamentary Briefing on PRS White Paper

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In light of the publication of the Renters’ Reform White Paper – A Fairer Private Rented Sector, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing in the North has organised a briefing for Parliamentarians on Wednesday 6th July.

The White Paper represents landmark reform in the private rented sector (PRS) and aims to improve standards and quality in the private sector as part of the government’s mission to level up the country.

Key proposals include banning ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions, providing security for tenants in the private rented sector and empowering them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction; expanding the Decent Homes Standard into the PRS to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030; and the creation of a new property portal help landlords understand their obligations and give tenants performance information to hold their landlord to account as well as aiding local authorities by providing a register of properties.

At the APPG Members of Parliament representing communities from across the North will be joined by a variety stakeholders offering comment and analysis. The NHC will offer a northern perspective on the implications of the White Paper, whilst Generation Rent and the National Residential Landlords Association will be in attendance to give their views. Finally, a selection of NHC members will share their experiences directly with Parliamentarians on their work to raise and enforce standards and quality across northern neighbourhoods.

The APPG for Housing in the North has a longstanding interest in this agenda, recently organising an Inquiry into Property Standards in the Northern PRS which was supported by the NHC and based on the evidence provided by NHC members. The Inquiry’s report, No Home Left Behind, was published in November 2020.

In addition to this Parliamentary Briefing, the NHC’s PRS Network will hold a second briefing on 20th July for all NHC members. The NHC PRS Network meets quarterly NHC members working in connection with, or with an interest in, private sector housing and private sector housing reform to discuss day-to-day challenges and track and respond to national policy development. All meetings are Chaired by Dr Julie Rugg, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York. Further details are below.

The NHC will continue to gather evidence and hold sessions with NHC members to discuss the proposals in more detail and scrutinise plans going forward.

  • The NHC acts as the Secretariat to the APPG for Housing in the North, Senior Leaders from within the NHC membership have the ability to attend APPG fomeetings as observers. For more information please contact Matthew Wilson, Member Engagement Officer: matthew.wilson@nhc.org.uk
  • For more information on the NHC Private Rented Sector Network, please contact Liam Gregson, Member Engagement Manager: liam.gregson@nhc.org.uk. To join the Network Mailing List, contact Kristina Dawson, Business Intelligence Assistant: kristina.dawson@nhc.org.uk
  • The launch of No Home Left Behind also featured Lockdown, Rundown, Breakdown, a study which highlights the lived experience of people who were living in poor-quality, non-decent, accommodation in lockdown and sets out their coping strategies. Research was undertaken by the University of Huddersfield and supported by the Northern Housing Consortium and the Nationwide Foundation.