Former minister calls for private rental sector to be regulated by government

Private landlords should be forced to keep their homes to standards set by social housing regulators, it has been suggested.  

Former treasury minister Kitty Ussher has claimed that tenants in privately let homes should be able expect a minimum standard of quality whilst renting a house or flat.

In a new essay published by The Fabian Society, the former Labour MP called for the introduction of regulators to ensure this happens.

According to insidehousing.co.uk, she said: “All landlords should be licensed and required to raise the quality of their homes to the decent home standard required by the Department for Communities of Local Government.”

She went to suggest that landlords who are unable to do this should allow local letting agents to handle the long-term management of their property.

Of course, many landlords in Sussex already rely on the letting agents Brighton and Worthing have to offer to ensure their property is well-maintained whilst occupied by tenants.

Reporting on Ussher’s comments, The Guardian’s property journalist Liam Kelly questioned whether government interference in the private rental sector would be beneficial for the economy.

In an article for guardian.co.uk, he pointed out that the Housing Health and Safety Ratings System (HHSRS) was already in place to protect private tenants and that further regulation of the sector could prove to be an unnecessary expense for local authorities.