A leading landlord organisation has welcomed Government plans for tenancy reforms in the private rented sector.
Eric Pickles MP, Communities and Local Government Secretary, announced the proposals at the Conservative Party Conference where he called for “family-friendly” tenancy agreements bet
The new model for the sector would see tenants and landlords able to agree longer tenancy arrangements to provide more stability for families.
Mr Pickles said: “”Families deserve stability for their children, and all tenants deserve a good and transparent service from their landlords and lettings agents.
“These proposals will raise the quality and choice of rental accommodation, root out the cowboys and rogue operators in the sector, and give tenants the confidence to request longer fixed-term, family-friendly tenancies that meet their needs.”
It is proposed for any tenancy agreement to provide an initial probation period for both tenant and landlord to ensure they are content to enter into a longer agreement with each other.
There would also be a clause which allows the tenancy to be ended early where necessary.
Alan Ward, Chairman of the Residential Landlord Association (RLA) welcomed the announcement. He said: “This will provide greater certainty to the growing number of families living in the sector, whilst retaining the much needed flexibility that the sector has provided to the housing market.
“The RLA has led the charge against calls for a rigid, standard five year contract, which would not be needed by the vast majority of private sector tenants.
“It would also have given tenants a one way ticket to leave the property whenever they liked. Under this announcement, tenants would be better informed about options already available, to them to be agreed by both the tenant and landlord.
“At the heart of the private rented sector is the need for a balanced relationship between the landlord and tenant which enables them to hold each other to account. This announcement provides security, flexibility and strikes the right balance between the landlord and tenant without the need for heavy handed legislation.”