Private rented housing

This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on private rented housing. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.

Standard Notes

DateDescription
21.02.2013Private sector letting and managing agents: should they be regulated?
This note considers the regulation of private sector letting and managing agents.
11.01.2013Constituency casework: housing (England)
A guide to sources for answering common constituents' housing problems.
04.01.2013The reform of Housing Benefit (Local Housing Allowance) for tenants in private rented housing
This note discusses the implementation of the LHA since 7 April 2008 and the reform of Housing Benefit for private tenants
31.12.2012Measures to reduce Housing Benefit expenditure - an overview
This note outlines all the measures aimed at reducing Housing Benefit expenditure set out in the June 2010 Budget and the October 2010 Spending Review, together with comment and an assessment of the impact of those measures.
28.12.2012The Household Benefit Cap
This note explains how the household benefit cap will operate and summarises reactions to it, including attempts to amend the benefit cap as the Welfare Reform Act progressed through Parliament.

Research Papers

DateDescription
08.06.2011Welfare Reform Bill: Committee Stage Report
This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. It complements Research Papers 11/23 and 11/24, prepared for the Commons Second Reading debate.
04.03.2011Welfare Reform Bill: reform of disability benefits, Housing Benefit, and other measures
This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. For information on the provision in the Bill relating to the introduction of Universal Credit, please see the complementary Library Research Paper, 11/24. Besides Universal Credit, the Bill proposes a number of other significant welfare reforms, including replacement of the current Disability Living Allowance, restriction of Housing Benefit entitlement to social housing tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need, time-limiting the payment of contributory Employment and Support Allowance to twelve months, and capping the total amount of benefit that can be claimed.
22.02.2010Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants Etc.) Bill: Committee Stage Report
This paper summarises the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Bill. In July 2009 the Government announced that it would legislate to ensure that tenants are given adequate notice to vacate their property if their landlord defaults on their mortgage. Over the summer of 2009, the Government consulted on legislative options to achieve this. On 3 December 2009, Dr Brian Iddon announced that he would introduce a Private Members' Bill to protect private tenants whose landlords default on their mortgage. The Bill has Government support.
25.01.2010Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants Etc.) Bill Bill 15 of 2009/10
The main purpose of the Bill is to offer protection to tenants of rental properties whose landlord has both defaulted on his mortgage and not notified his lender that the property was being let (an 'unauthorised tenancy'). The Bill gives courts power to postpone the delivery of a possession order, and to stay or suspend the execution of an existing possession order. It also ensures the tenant is given notice of a possession order before its execution.
05.01.2004Housing Bill (Bill 11 2003/04)
Housing Bill (Bill 11 2003/04). House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/02.

Early Day Motions

DateDescription
24.03.2011PROPOSAL FOR ONLINE RATING OF PRIVATE LANDLORDS
That this House welcomes the Consumer Focus Opening the Door report; acknowledges the need for an independent tenant feedback scheme on the performance of their landlords; believes ...
07.09.2010PRIVATE TENANTS
That this House notes the continuing problem faced by England's eight million private tenants of irresponsible landlords and poorly-maintained private rented properties, highlighted ...
27.07.2010MINIMUM ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR PRIVATE RENTED HOMES
That this House is concerned that over half of private rented homes fail the Decent Homes standard and that a quarter of private tenants live in fuel poverty, that the proportion of ...
15.06.2010REGULATION OF THE PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR
That this House notes with concern the Government's decision to abandon plans for a national register of landlords and further regulation of the private rented sector; recognises that ...
24.03.2010EXTENSION OF THE TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME CAMPAIGN
That this House welcomes the Government's announcement recommending that the threshold for the Tenancy Deposit Scheme be raised from the £25,000 to £100,000 which will ensure that many ...

Glossary

  • Research Papers (RP) - briefings produced by the House of Commons Library on Bills, topical issues and regular statistics
  • Standard Notes (SN) - shorter, topical briefings from the Commons Library
  • Early Day Motions (EDMs) - formal motions submitted by MPs in the House of Commons
  • POST Notes - short briefing notes produced by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
  • Lords Library Notes (LLN) - an occasional series of papers compiled by the House of Lords Library