The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) also announced a Decent Homes Standard will be applied to the private rented sector for the first time, setting a ‘clear bar’ on what tenants can expect from their home. The standard will be set following further consultation.
For enforcement purposes, local authorities will be given additional powers to investigate landlords and require them to uphold standards on pain of up to £30,000 fines or a banning order. Tenants will be able to claim up to 24 months’ rent back through rent repayment orders.
The amendments will now be considered at committee stage. Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said rising rents and the government’s four-year freeze on housing benefit meant ‘a terrible winter of evictions lies ahead’.
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