Labour will force private landlords to give renters tenancies of indefinite length if the party wins the next general election.
Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey says he wants to adjust the balance of power between tenants and landlords to give tenants more security in their buy to let homes.
He claimed many renters were “living in fear of losing their homes”.
“The insecurity of renting is a power imbalance at the heart of our broken housing market,” said Healey.
“Tenants are afraid to report problems in case they are evicted, and families with children are forced to move at short notice.
“Many landlords provide decent homes that tenants are happy with, but the government is allowing rogue landlords to take advantage of good tenants. Renters deserve better.”
The proposal is backed by housing charities Shelter and the London Renters Union.
Healey added that his policy would stop landlords from increasing rents when they wanted and give tenants the right to leave a home if they gave appropriate notice.
His strategy is based on a rental model in Germany, where no-fault evictions are banned and landlords can only repossess a home if the tenant is not paying the rent or has committed an offence at the property.
Landlords in Scotland face similar rules as tenants can only be evicted if one of 18 statutory reasons apply.
Tenants stay in a rented home for an average of 11 years in Germany, but only four years in the UK.
ARLA, the trade body for letting agents, pointing out the group’s research found tenants wanted to stay in rented homes for longer but did not want to sign longer tenancy agreements to do so.
Labour says the proposal will go to consultation prior to the next general election, alongside details of tougher housing standards and rent controls.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what this will mean for existing Assured Shorthold Tenancies which have now become Periodic tenancies. Will landlords be stuck with tenants they cannot evict and houses they will have difficulty selling, or will it only apply to new tenancies? If the latter I would rather evict my tenant of 14 years now and sell whilst I can.
Usual propaganda. 89% of tenancies are ended by the tenant due to lifestyle- change jobs, visa expire, move away etc. 9% ended because of rent arrears. So only 2% ended by the landlord due to sales or other reasons.
While we are on the German model, properties provided are like commercial leases – tenants just get a shell. They have to install their own kitchens, bathrooms etc. So once they have paid for this, explains why the average German tenure is 11 years. On top of this, if a landlord holds a property for 10 years or more and then sells it, they don’t pay any capital gains tax. Will the government be doing this as well, or just cherry picking the vote winners?