20^th Mar 2019

Labour's shadow housing secretary John Healey has announced that 'when' Labour get in power it will tackle the apparent ‘power imbalance’ between landlords and renters. To achieve this it will make it mandatory for landlords to give an “indefinite” period to tenancies.

The party wishes to replicate Germany's 'indefinite' tenancies as the way forward to try and cure what Healey describes as a "broken housing market”, by giving tenants a greater security as 20% of tenancies are ended by landlords.

In Germany the average length of tenancy is 11 years whereas in England it is four years.

Labour's announcement of its plans for 'indefinite' tenancies contradicts its 2017 pledge of committing to make private tenancies last for three years. The party also intends to curtail rent increases.

Healey said: “People shouldn’t be living in fear of losing their homes. The insecurity of renting is a power imbalance at the heart of our broken housing market, where tenants are afraid to report problems in case they are evicted, and families with children are forced to move at short notice.

“Many landlords provide decent homes that tenants are happy with, but the government is allowing rogue landlords to take advantage of good tenants. Renters deserve better.”

Richard Merrick of PIMS, said: " Labour's 'indefinite' tenancies coupled with the London mayor's desire to introduce rent caps into the capital, is a recipe for disaster and will create an even bigger broken housing market. If they get into power then there will be a tidal wave of landlords leaving the market and rents will increase quite drastically due to the reduction in available homes to rent.

It seems that any government in power has the same intention in plaguing and taxing landlords out of the market and by default the private rented sector will become in effect state - run, unlike other industry sectors."



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