New Housing Secretary Urged to Look Again at Rental Reforms

From rental reforms and Section 21 evictions to, pet ownership and building safety, the new housing secretary, Simon Clarke, has a packed in-tray. Mr Clarke’s appointment was announced by Prime Minister Liz Truss, on 7 September as part of her new cabinet.

The housing secretary also inherits issues including housebuilding targets, homelessness and private rents, which rose by 3.2 per cent on average in the year to July, according government figures.

The MP for Middlesborough South and East Cleveland is the seventh Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Levelling up in six years. A minister in the previously-named department for Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2020, Mr Clarke said: “This is a department that I know really well, and which I am so looking forward to returning to – the commitment and expertise of officials there on themes as diverse as homelessness, building safety and devolution is second to none.”

The previous housing secretary, Greg Clark, held the post for just nine weeks after replacing Michael Gove in July.

Chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, Ben Beadle, warned Mr Clarke that tax rises and uncertainty is leading landlords to abandon the private rented sector at a time of high demand for homes to let.

He said: “The government needs to look afresh at the rental reform white paper to ensure the plans in it have the confidence of responsible landlords. This needs to include action to tackle anti-social tenants, scrapping plans that would damage the student housing market, and reforming the courts to ensure legitimate possession cases are dealt with more swiftly.”

The white paper includes moves to end Section 21 no fault evictions, allow pet ownership in most rental properties and introduce a rental sector ombudsman.

Read more about this story on the Property Reporter and Evening Standard websites.