The government’s new Levelling Up White Paper, revealed this morning includes a radical reshaping of the private rental sector.

Section 21 eviction powers will be removed  and Housing Secretary Michael Gove says this will “end the unfair situation where renters can be kicked out of their homes for no reason.”

In addition all homes in the private rental sector will have to meet a minimum standard to be known as the Decent Homes Standard. 

The White Paper does not stop there. It adds: “We will consult on introducing a landlords register, and will set out plans for a crackdown on rogue landlords – making sure fines and bans stop repeat offenders leaving renters in terrible conditions.”

There’s more - the government says home ownership will be boosted via a new £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund being launched, which will provide loans to small and medium sized developers and support the government's wider regeneration agenda in areas considered a priority for levelling up.

The government is also committing to build what it calls “a more genuinely affordable social housing.” A new Social Housing Regulation Bill will be introduced following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017.

The ‘80/20 rule’ which leads to 80 per cent of government funding for housing supply being directed at ‘maximum affordability areas’ – in practice, London and the South East – will be scrapped, with much of the £1.8 billion brownfield funding instead being diverted to transforming brownfield sites in the North and Midlands. Metro Mayors will be allocated £120m of this funding. 

The whole Levelling Up White Paper is vast and far-reaching with 12 so-called missions, given legal status in a flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. This will “shift government focus and resources to Britain’s forgotten communities throughout the 2020s.”

You can view the full report by clicking here.

*Source - Estate Agent Today 02.02.22