Is the UK housing market facing the prospect of rent controls? Louise Marin-Bataller shares her thoughts with IPE Real Assets

• 22 May 2024
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Louise Marin-Bataller, Senior Associate within our Commercial Real Estate team, has shared her industry reactions to The Renters Reform Bill with IPE Real Assets in a feature named ‘Is the UK housing market facing the prospect of rent controls?’

Louise questions “how long could a reform of the court system take? Will it ever happen and will section 21 ever go?” It seems unlikely during the current government’s lifetime.

There are many other aspects to the Reform Bill, however, which might still have implications if not further amended. Worries around the private student housing market appear to have abated, which is lucky as some of the original proposal regarding changes to notice were quite simply “a minefield” in Marin-Bataller’s opinion.

She remains worried about proposals to stop landlords accepting more than one month’s rent in advance. This could cause problems for foreign renters or those with bad credit histories, who “would normally get around the credit referencing issue by paying six to 12 months’ rent in advance,” Marin-Bataller says. “What will happen to this group of people, particularly when some have suggested that guarantors should also no longer be allowed?”

Tenants could clearly benefit from landlords being unable to service notice to terminate a lease until six months into the lease term. But unless proposed amendments are accepted, “landlords could be faced with notices served on day one by tenants resulting in short-term lets of two months”. Marin-Bataller wonders: “Will this ultimately lead to landlords leaving the PRS?”

Real the full article, alongside comments from other industry leaders from the BPF, Get Living and Nido, on IPE Real Assets’ website here.