MPs support imposing one-month limit on advance rent payments

MPs have voted for a new, one-month limit on advance rent payments in England as the Tenant Rights Bill moves closer to becoming law.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed in the Commons on Tuesday the addition of a clause to prevent landlords from charging upfront fees.

Landlord groups have warned that the move could put property owners at risk if tenants have no other way to prove their ability to pay rent on an ongoing basis.

And independent MP Jeremy Corbyn warned that some tenants were being evicted before the package of protections in the bill, including a ban on “no-fault” evictions, could be implemented as expected this summer.

Detailing the limit in the Commons, Pennycook said the government wanted to prevent demands for “large rent upfront payments”, which he said could sometimes amount to 12 months’ rent.

Tenants who were “fully able to afford the monthly rent” were being asked to pay “larger sums than ever” to landlords, he said, or “risk having their rent withheld altogether.” .

The latest move comes on top of existing measures aimed at preventing bidding wars for homes where “often desperate tenants are pitted against each other so that landlords are able to extract the highest payment possible”.

Shadow Housing Minister David Simmonds said the bill had “numerous shortcomings” and would raise “concerns about the availability and affordability of housing in the private rented sector”.

A coalition of groups representing landlords and letting agents claimed that limits on advance payments could leave tenants unable to prove their ability to cover their rent.

Groups including the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said: “Cutting any of the assurances landlords demand when renting to people who cannot easily prove their ability to afford a tenancy is neither practical nor Neither is responsible.”

But some MPs, including Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, called on the government to go further and impose rent controls.

The MP for Bristol West said the high cost of rent was leaving people “on the streets”, so “there is still a need for rent control – because having a right to something you can’t afford and you can’t access , there is no help for anyone”.

Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Eadie, a renter and MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said rent rises should be limited because “I have yet to see any good reason why landlords should be able to increase their income.” Why should we see it rising faster than people who actually work for a living”.

And former Labor leader Corbyn suggested that evictions were already taking place before the protections came into force, saying, “There are a lot of landlords at the present time who would find it unfair to end tenancies or raise rents before this legislation comes in.” Using arguments”.

Pennycook acknowledged that there were “a lot of bad practices in the sector” that the government wanted to crack down on, and acknowledged the possibility of “retaliatory economic no-fault evictions” in the interim period.

However, he drew the line at rent control, saying there was evidence the measure could harm tenants.

He said, “Once Section 21 (“no-fault”) evictions are struck down, unscrupulous landlords will undoubtedly attempt to evict tenants who assert their rights through forced rent increases.”

However, he added, “The Government sincerely believes that the introduction of rent control in the private rented sector could harm tenants as well as landlords by resulting in lower supply and discouraging investment”. .

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, welcomed the new cap on advance payments – but urged the Government to move further to control rent rises.

She said: “For years, tenants have been forced to pony up astonishing sums up front or see their hopes for a home dashed.

“With benefit recipients almost twice as likely to rent due to demand for rent in advance, the Government is right to use the Tenants Bill of Rights to clamp down on this discriminatory practice.

“To truly make renting more secure and affordable, the bill should limit tenancy rent increases in line with inflation or wage growth.”

A majority of MPs supported the bill in the third reading and it will now go to the Lords.