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Northern Ireland government lays out plan to improve protection for private renters
Northern Ireland’s government has laid out plans to tighten up lax regulations surrounding the private rented sector.
Northern Ireland’s government has laid out plans to tighten up lax regulations surrounding the private rented sector #UKhousingThe proposed changes include a requirement for all private tenants to receive a written tenancy agreement and for rent increases to be restricted to once a year.
Civil servants have been tasked with drawing up draft legislation to effect the reforms, which will also increase the eviction notice period from the current four-week minimum and to limit deposits.
Private landlords in the region will for the first time be obliged to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and carry out periodical electrical safety checks.
Meanwhile, councils could be granted new powers to introduce and enforce minimum energy-efficiency standards in private rented homes.
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Communities minister Deirdre Hargey said: “It is clear reform is urgently needed to improve protections in the private rented sector, particularly for the most vulnerable in our communities.
“The initial bill is only the start. In the longer term I will also address issues such as letting agent regulation, the introduction of grounds for eviction and fitness standards.
“These improvements have been a long time coming and will enhance conditions for tenants living in the sector.”
The plan has been set out in the Department for Communities’ response to a consultation on regulation of private rented homes, published this week.
Ms Hargey must now ask her fellow ministers to bring forward legislation to implement the proposals.
Northern Ireland’s private rented sector has grown significantly in recent years and is now similar in size to its social housing sector, making up around 15% of the 800,000 dwellings in the region.
Nearly half of the private renters in Northern Ireland are in receipt of housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit, with more than £270m paid out in benefits to private landlords in 2019/20.
There are twice as many families with children in the private rented sector than in social housing.
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