Sean Hooker: After the storm, smooth sailing for renters' reform?

It’s happened again! The soap opera that is British politics has come up trumps: another Prime Minister has come crashing down and a new one crowned. The events of the last few weeks are well documented and the sensible money was on yet another change at the top.

Of course, the repercussions of all of this have wide and serious consequences. Whilst the major U-turns and turmoil have occupied the concerns of commentators, in our smaller bubble of the private rented sector, chaos was also reigning.

Back and forth over section 21

It all started, as it usually does these days, on Twitter, when a senior Times journalist tweeted that Number 10 was reviewing the scrapping of section 21 no fault evictions and that the whole rental reform agenda was not seen as a priority.

This revelation caused an immediate frenzy of reaction from all and sundry in the sector. Predictably, the suggestion was welcomed by the landlord community and condemned by the tenant focused groups and the opposition.

I said at the time, though, that governments often use friendly newspapers to test out ideas as rumours before announcing them. If they go down badly, they deny them. Lo and behold within twenty-four hours, the Prime Minister, herself had with a terse two-word response, scotched the rumour in Parliament.

The following day in a more detailed answer was given by the then Secretary of State, who stated legislation will be laid this Parliament. Calm the waters and sail on!

A new Prime Minister and an returning Housing Secretary

Well, this was just the eye of the hurricane. Things were just about to get even stranger. Within a week, the Prime Minister was gone.

A leadership selection was announced to select a replacement in double quick time. A contest became a coronation and the runner-up last time, Rishi Sunak, grabbed the gold medal that eluded him such a short time ago.

It then got bizarre. As with all these things, the new guy at the top, wants his own team in place, so I strongly suspected that the incumbent Secretary of State responsible for housing was for the chop, however what I did not see coming was the return of the architect of levelling-up, Michael Gove, to his old job.

After a late summer of snakes and ladders, we were back to square one! The indication at the moment is that the government will revert back to the manifesto pledges of 2019 - however, who knows. What is clear is that time is running out to get new laws on the statute books and that is without the possibility of a snap general election occurring.

Yes, for the rental reform agenda, the old captain is back at the helm, and whilst he has changed his crew below the decks, there should be little having to get back up to speed.

However, having had to edit this blog heavily since putting pen to paper, I am not pinning any tail to the donkey yet.

A delayed fiscal statement

The government also has big economic fish to fry and already we have seen their proposed date to present the Fiscal Statement, has been delayed, so tax and spend decisions are still to be finalised.

So where does that leave us? Since all the delays and speculation started, the constant flip flopping is causing confusion and uncertainty in the market, and this is very dangerous. Agents and their landlords cannot plan for the future, and this will lead to them making poor decisions in their longer-term plans. What is needed is a clear way forward, whether you like the road or not.

This said, whilst the final decisions on the direction will be political, the work on the reforms has not stopped. Civil servants have been working on the proposals and there have been consultations and discussions with all parties in the sector.

The Labour party's position

The rental plans are also mainly in accordance with the policy direction of the opposition party, so the core pillars of the Renters' Reform Bill white paper are likely to form part of their plans too.

Indeed, at the recent Labour Conference, the party committed to practically the entire agenda. For those who feel these additions are a bridge too far, they should be urging the government to get their legislation in place in its current manifestation before any election.

Making change happen

It is clear that whilst we are in the midst of this pandemonium, the lettings industry is going to have to take the initiative and try and drive things forward. Don’t let change happen to you, make change happen for you.

The detailed and well researched paper the Lettings Industry Council (TLIC) submitted to the government as part of the feedback on the white paper is a great example. It was also good to see David Smith, himself one of the experts featured in the Goodlord webinar series on rental reforms that I also took part in, giving his views on the white paper changes.

Whilst he believes change will be more piecemeal, it was good to see he and I are on the same page. With the exception of possibly the move to periodic tenancies being dropped - as this does not sit well with opposition and tenant groups - he thinks the government will shoehorn the changes into regulations, even if they cannot deliver a Renters’ Reform Bill in time.

Additional measures in discussion

At a recent TLIC event, presentations on property logbooks and the challenge of bring rental properties up to net zero were enlightening. The indication that lobbying to get the EPC changes delayed by at least a year does appear to be getting through to the government, not least as they do not seem anywhere near providing the guidance and support needed to make this happen.

I was also impressed with the organisation which helps letting agents identify and promote disabled suitable rental properties and to build awareness of the sector to the needs of this part of the rental market.

It is this drive and commitment that make me optimistic for the future and despite the political failures, the prospects for positive and meaningful change is on the horizon. This message should be in the first Red Box of the new Prime Minister, with the note get it done.