Renters (Reform) Bill IA: RPC Opinion (Green-rated)
Regulatory Policy Committee opinion on DLUHC's Renters (Reform) Bill IA
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The Government is introducing legislation to reform the private rented sector (PRS), to improve the access to quality homes for current and future tenants, whilst retaining appropriate safeguards and powers for private landlords.
As originally submitted for RPC scrutiny, the IA was not fit for purpose as it had not correctly classified (or provided appropriate justification for) some business impacts. Additionally, the Department had not clearly identified what measures were being enacted through the Bill itself and what would necessitate further secondary legislation, while also failing to ensure that the IA truly reflected the content of the Bill at this time. Furthermore, the Department had not considered the full range of likely impacts upon landlords in the PRS, as well as the stock of housing that the sector contains. Lastly, the IA made use of unjustified assumptions which were unsupported by evidence.
In the published IA, the Department has adjusted the classification of direct and indirect impacts where necessary, while providing further explanation to support those where there may have been doubt over its appropriateness. There is now further clarity over what measures are covered in the IA and whether they are enacting or enabling, with the Department providing further clarity throughout when discussing the EANDCB and relevant NPV figures. In addition, the Department has included some additional consideration of further impacts that may affect landlords and the PRS sector overall and provided additional text to support key assumptions made.