Exclusive: Report recommends ‘double lock’ for those renewing their tenancies
Rent rises should be capped for millions of people struggling to afford soaring rates, according to a landmark report commissioned by Labour.
The leaked proposals recommend a swathe of measures that give breathing room to renters buckling under the cost of living.
An annually updated National Landlords Register which would require landlords to demonstrate compliance with the decent homes standard or face fines and even be subject to a criminal offence.
The abolition of no-fault evictions, and “back-door” evictions introduced by the Conservative renters’ reform bill, which may include landlords wishing to move themselves or family members in and landlords wishing to sell a property which Cowan says in the report “shouldn’t be a ground for ending a tenancy”.
Measures to discourage landlords from entering the short-term and holiday let market or nightly paid temporary accommodation sector by equalising the tax treatment for all forms of private letting.
Policies to ensure that medium-term affordable housing returns to being the second-largest part of the housing sector, to decrease the country’s reliance on the private rental market.
