Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill is a disaster for young people (2024)

Labour’s new Renters’ Rights Bill shows they don’t understand the value of property rights and they can’t see landlords as anything other than exploiters.

Funny, as the only MP in this Parliament who has been found to mistreat tenants is one of their own – Jas Athwal.

We all want to see a better deal for tenants but, as ever, Labour thinks more regulation is the answer to every problem.

Their Bill will reduce the supply of rental homes, drive up rents and deter the building of new homes for hard-pressed young people.

It’s time to tell the truth about our property market. Landlords provide a vital service. The private rented sector is vital for many who can’t yet afford a mortgage, for young people and those who need to move for work.

The overwhelming majority of landlords are people who care for their tenants and ask only that their property be respected and a fair rent is paid.

Respect for property rights is not just an abstract principle, it underpins confidence in our economy and legal system.

Bringing in rent control through the back door

Today Labour are bringing forward legislation that will wreck the rental market.

It will act as a powerful disincentive for anyone to rent out their property.

Instead of landlord and tenant freely entering into a contract they can renew when the terms expire, all tenancies will continue indefinitely until terminated by the tenant – there will be no more fixed-term tenancies.

If a landlord wants to recover possession of their property they will have to obtain a court order.

Worse than that, the landlord can only apply to get their own property back on the basis of a limited list of reasons.

What sort of market is it where you can’t decide what to do with your own property? This is a violation of the principle of freedom of contract.

Labour is also bringing in rent control through the back door, as judges will be able to determine a market rent instead of the law of supply and demand.

Rent control has failed wherever it has been tried. When you interfere with market prices you get shortages and then higher prices.

The people who will ultimately pay for this regulation are tenants, especially young people.

Young people hit the hardest

You don’t need a crystal ball to see what will happen. Data already shows landlords exiting the market in anticipation of the new law.

In Scotland, the supply of rental properties went down significantly when they made similar changes and rents have gone up faster than in England.

The demand for social housing will increase and the Government will make that demand even hotter by closing down migrant accommodation sites and forcing local authorities to house asylum seekers in private rental homes in their areas.

Labour’s Bill will hit those at the low end of the market and young people the hardest, those who do not have networks of contacts to rent informally from friends and family – or billionaire donors like Lord Alli.

I want to see the best possible deal for renters and young people, and Labour’s Bill will do the opposite.

Sadly, the last Conservative government also tried to intervene in this market. The legislation introduced was not as bad as Labour’s plans.

But it was one area where we talked Right but acted Left, as I warned the secretary of state at the time.

I was not the only colleague opposed to these elements of the Renters (Reform) Bill.

Other ministers and backbenchers agreed with me that we should fix the housing market to benefit renters without violating property rights.

While we were rightly proud that the Conservatives oversaw the building of a million new homes, this was simply not enough.

We need to renew our thinking

A functioning housing market is in everyone’s interests and this is what Labour should be focusing on.

Unfortunately, we know that Angela Rayner is already falling behind on her housing targets.

She has failed to address even the most obvious blockers in the system, like the nutrient neutrality rules.

We don’t have the numbers to stop Labour’s Bill, so we will work with them as a constructive opposition so that they don’t make things worse for tenants.

In my campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party, I have constantly pledged to tell the truth.

The truth is that the only way to improve the lives of the millions of people living in rented homes is to control immigration and build more homes, particularly in high-demand areas like Inner London.

The current legislation will patch over rising rents and worsening availability with intrusive regulations, without addressing housing supply and immigration demand.

Instead of enforcing existing laws, more paperwork and unfair changes will just drive out the good landlords, hitting young people hardest.

We need to renew our thinking, not reheat this badly thought-through Bill.

Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill is a disaster for young people (2024)
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