Housing Under-Secretary Baroness Taylor of Stevenage has strongly defended the Government's renting reforms, asserting that the Renters’ Rights Bill will not discourage investment. Instead, she claims it will provide landlords with the confidence and support necessary to continue investing in the private rented sector (PRS).

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During a parliamentary debate with the Liberal Democrats' Baroness Thornhill, she emphasised that these reforms are designed to bolster, not hinder, landlord investment and instead she told the Lib Democrats' Baroness Thornhill during a debate in parliament that: “Our Renters Reform  Bill ensures that landlords have the confidence and support they need to continue to invest in the sector and we do not expect it to have a destabilising effect on the market.”

However Baroness Taylor did admit that there was an issue with PRS supply and demand and that it is crucial that longer term renting agreements must be regulated but then declared  that: “There is no evidence of an exodus from the market and we hope that the Bill will make things better.”

She mentioned a study conducted by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence, which examined the impact of renting regulations and tax changes over the past 25 years had affected the supply of private rented sector housing in both the UK and internationally.

The Housing Under-Secretary told the House of Commons the report had come to the conclusion that: “There was no evidence that that has had an impact. In fact, the PRS has doubled in size since 2002 and is now the second largest housing tenure, with over 11 million people living in the private rented sector.”