As the Bill continues its journey through the Houses of Parliament it seems again that the politicians want to make another mountain out of a mole hill!!
The UK Government has proposed to ban upfront payments of more than two months’ rent, claiming this will crack down on discrimination against lower-income renters by unscrupulous landlords. Propertymark has challenged this position, stating that a one-size-fits-all approach will end up blocking access to the private rented sector (PRS) for some tenants.
The Bill is due to return to the House of Commons for its Report Stage and Third Reading, today, the 14 January, before moving to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
Under changes contained in the amended version of the Bill, agents and landlords will still be able to ask tenants to pay one month’s rent upfront, alongside a deposit of up to six weeks’ rent as allowed under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
However, for a significant minority, including people with poor or no credit history, those on fixed incomes, overseas students, and self-employed tenants with fluctuating incomes, the ability to make advance payments allows them to demonstrate their financial reliability and secure a home.
Data from The Lettings Hub shows that in the last three years just 7% of tenancies began with an upfront payment of more than four month’s rent, and that this was more than twice as common for the most expensive properties. Far fewer tenants paying under £1,000 per month paid rent in advance, which challenges the idea that lower-income tenants are being pressured to pay more.
Here at Pure up front payments of more than one months rent are very rare so this again seems like a pointless debate that will affect only a tiny fraction of tenancies. Indeed the introduction of deposit replacement schemes such as Reposit has reduced the financial burden on tenants having to make large up front payments.
If anyone has any questions regarding this issue, or the Renter Rights Bill in general, please do not hesitate to contact Lee Bilbrough – lee@purepropertylettings.co.uk