A new report from parliament’s cross-party Housing Committee has called on the government to do more to improve the quality and safety of private rented homes.
The report from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee also made recommendations to give renters more housing security and ensure they are able to exercise the new rights in the Renters’ Rights Act which came into force on 1 May this year.
The Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC), an alliance of 18 leading housing and renters organisations, has responded to some of the key points below - covering Awaab’s law, the affordability of renting, the Decent Homes Standard and the Private Rented Sector Database:
Awaab's Law for private rented homes
In force for social housing since October last year, Awaab's Law sets out timelines for housing providers to address serious health hazards. The government have promised to introduce Awaab's Law to the private rented sector but have still not given a date for when this will happen.
The Committee's report states they are disappointed that the government has not yet committed to a clear timeframe and recommends the government "begin rolling out Awaab’s Law in the private rented sector this year to ensure that these legal protections are fully in place across the private rented sector by the end of 2028/29."
Clara Collingwood, Director at the RRC, said:
"One in ten privately rented homes in England contain serious health hazards like the severe mould that lead to Awaab Ishak's death. It is impossible not to be appalled by the thought of children still living in life threatening conditions, and the lives cut short each year by our broken housing system.
"Renters cannot afford to wait any longer for these basic protections - we agree that the government must roll out Awaab’s law at pace, starting this year. A landlord who can’t (or won’t) ensure their home is safe to live in, is profiting from desperation and dangerous housing and shouldn’t be a landlord in the first place.”
Affordability
As rents increase, the proportion of homes affordable to renters who rely on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) decrease. As the report notes, fear of a rent increase or the struggle to find a new home means low-income renters may be less likely to complain to their landlord (and thus not exercise their new rights).
LHA has been frozen since April 2025. The report called on the government to unfreeze the benefit and restore it to the 30th percentile of local rents.
The report also noted that many renters are still exposed to an unaffordable rent increase acting as a de facto eviction, which could be used by landlords in revenge for complaining. Renters are currently able to challenge rent increases that are above the market level at a First Tier Tribunal, and the report recommended some changes to make the tribunal function better.
Clara Collingwood, Director at the RRC, said:
“The cost of rent is the number one issue for most renters. Despite the new protections in the Renters’ Rights Act, soaring rents will continue to drive tenants into poverty and push us out of our homes and communities without firm action from the government.
“While the committee are right that housing allowance must be unfrozen, private rents will continue to outpace Local Housing Allowance if they are left unregulated. And while we agree that the rent tribunal should be improved, it is simply not enough to protect renters from rent hike evictions. There are many renters on low incomes who already cannot afford ‘market’ rents, and will not be helped by a tribunal agreeing a market level increase.
“There is one simple solution to both of these problems - the government must introduce controls or caps on rent increases as soon as possible. Three quarters of the public support a rent cap - it will give all renters genuine security and breathing space in our homes, reduce homelessness, allow wages to catch up to rents, and save the government and local councils millions of pounds a year.”
Decent Homes Standard
The report highlights the poor conditions in private rented homes - more than one in five currently fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard set by the government. The government timeline for landlords to ensure their properties meet these standards is 2035.
The report notes that the government’s impact assessment assumes 60% of landlords will wait until 2035 to improve their properties, calls for more enforcement of the standard once it is in place and recommends the government “establish incentives to encourage landlords to upgrade their homes sooner.”
Clara Collingwood, Director at the RRC, said:
“Many landlords simply won't meet basic standards for their tenants until they are forced to, and the decision to give them until 2035 puts millions of private renters at risk. The government’s priority should be raising standards and keeping renters safe. Whether they do that through incentivising landlords is up to them.
“Regardless, tenants shouldn't have to wait a decade for decent homes, and we shouldn't be asked to pay more rent if our homes are brought up to the required minimum. The government should bring the timeline forward, and make sure that public funds aren't used to drive up our rents.”
Private Rented Sector Database
The report calls for the government to "be more ambitious" on the role of the new Private Rented Sector database which is currently being introduced as part of the Renters’ Rights Act.
It states:
"The government must ensure that the private rented sector database includes, as a minimum, information on the condition and accessibility of privately rented properties, including details of previous enforcement actions, and the current rent and rent histories. Following the initial rollout, we recommend that the database is developed to provide tenants with guidance on their legal rights and enable them to report concerns to their local authority."
Clara Collingwood, Director at the RRC, said:
"The new landlord database is at the heart of making the Renters' Rights Act work effectively for tenants, landlords and councils, and must make data on rents, accessibility and enforcement publicly available. It's just common sense that new tenants should be able to find out whether their potential landlord has been fined before, or if the previous tenants were evicted and why.
“A stronger database would empower renters to know what they're getting into before starting a tenancy and make it much easier for councils to enforce the new legislation and hold criminal landlords to account. The success of measures to reduce the cost of renting hinges on it too. To regulate rents you need to know what current rents are.”