Liz Truss won the Conservative Party leadership contest and has taken over as Prime Minister. Forming part of Liz Truss’ new cabinet is Simon Clarke, who has been appointed as the Levelling Up Secretary. So what does this all mean for the private rental sector and, more importantly, the anticipated reforms?

Is Simon Clarke’s appointment a positive for the private rental sector?

Ben Beadle, the chief executive of the National Residential Landlords’ Association, said: “The NRLA welcomes Simon Clarke’s appointment as Levelling Up Secretary.”

Some background on Clarke: in September 2018, Simon Clarke voted against higher fines for landlords or letting agencies breaching the law limiting what tenants can be charged for; he also voted against restricting landlords and letting agents from charging tenants for losses arising from default by the tenant of the tenancy agreement; all of which demonstrates a more favourable attitude towards landlords.

How does the future look for landlords with Liz Truss in charge?

Truss is facing challenges with the energy crisis and the war on Ukraine. She also has her work cut out to tackle the housing crisis.

The private rental sector is the second largest in England, housing 4.5 million or 19% of households. As part of a long-term plan to transform the UK to reduce the imbalances between areas and social groups and create more equal opportunities, the then Secretary of State Michael Gove unveiled the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper setting out the Government’s strategy. The mission was to halve the number of poor-quality homes by 2030.

Amongst other Government responses, part of the White Paper set out plans to:

·        abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and introduce a simpler tenancy structure

·        apply the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS for the first time

·        introduce a new Property Portal to help landlords understand their obligations

·        introduce a housing ombudsman covering all PRS landlords and providing redress for tenants

Liz Truss’ speech as Prime Minister on 6 September confirmed three early priorities - to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform, to tackle the energy crisis, and to deliver on the National Health Service.  Although she did not mention the phrase ‘levelling up’, which formed a strong part of the Conservative Manifesto back in 2019, Truss has positioned herself as being pro-growth and getting things done. There were some concerns that the Levelling Up agenda could take a back seat following Truss’ comments that it was wrong to view economic policy through the “lens of redistribution”.

If Liz Truss takes a more Thatcherite economic view and encourages deregulation, where does that leave the renters reform legislation? Will it be scrapped? Could there be moves to water it down? Liz Truss has also hinted there could be a General Election in 2024; who knows where that leaves the proposals.

We will continue to follow the progress of the reforms and update our readers on any new developments. In the meantime, be sure to follow our blog for more updates on this story and other housing news.