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Published: 27 June 2024

As the general election approaches, the private rental sector (PRS) is a hot topic among the major political parties. Each party has outlined policies aimed at addressing issues within the PRS, focusing on tenant rights, landlord regulations, and housing affordability. Here’s a brief summary of some of the main political parties’ stances and links to their manifestos:

Conservative’s manifesto pledges:

• Pass a Renters Reform Bill to deliver fairness in the property market for landlords and renters to fully abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
• Strengthen grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour.
• Provide more powers to councils so that they can manage the ‘uncontrolled growth’ of holiday lets.
• Introduce a two-year temporary Capital Gains Tax relief for landlords who sell to existing tenants.
• No rate increases to residential stamp duty to support home owners. Make permanent the first-time buyer stamp duty threshold rise from £300k to £425k – which was introduced in 2022.
• Maintain Private Residence Relief so that people’s homes are protected from Capital Gains Tax.
• Cap ground rents to £250
• Scrapped plans to further raise EPC ratings.

Conservative Party full manifesto

Labour’s manifesto pledges:

• Immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
• Prevent private renters from being exploited by landlords, ‘empowering’ them to challenge unreasonable rent increases.
• Extending ‘Awaab’s Law’ to private sector which requires landlords to fix reported health hazards within specified timeframes.
• Increasing stamp duty paid by non-UK residents.
• Build 1.5 million homes. Build a new generation of new towns, as part of a series of large-scale new communities across England.
• Labour wants to slash fuel poverty and cut energy bills for tenants by requiring all landlords to meet EPC C in their properties by 2030.

Labour Party full manifesto

Liberal Democrats manifesto pledges:

• Ban ‘no fault’ evictions for renters.
• Create a national register of registered landlords.
• Require landlords to upgrade energy efficiency of properties to EPC C or above by 2028.
• Expand incentives for households to install solar panels, including a guaranteed fair price for electricity sold back into the grid.
• Introduce ‘use it or lose it’ planning permission.
• Build 380,000 homes each year across the UK, 150,000 of which would be social homes. Build 10 new garden cities.
• Limit ground rents to a “nominal” fee
• Make 3 year tenancies the norm.

Liberal Democrats full manifesto

The Green Party manifesto pledges:

• Stable tenancies and abolish ‘no-fault’ evictions.
• Push for rent controls to be introduced for local authorities.
• Provide 150,000 new socially rented homes each year via house building and the purchase/refurbishment of existing housing.
• Tenants to have the right to insist their landlord access property-linked finance on their behalf.
• New homes to meet energy efficiency standards, with developers installing solar panels and heat pumps on new homes where appropriate.
• Invest £29bn in insulating homes to an EPC B rating or above, as part of 10-year program.
• Raise EPC ratings to B or above within 10 years.

Green Party full manifesto

Reform UK manifesto pledges:

• Encourage smaller landlords into the rental markets by scrapping Section 24. They say this would restore landlords rights to deduct finance costs and mortgage interest from tax on rental income.
• Scrap the Renters (Reform) Bill and improve the monitoring, appeals and enforcement process for renters instead
• Fast track new housing developments on brownfield sites.
• Cutting stamp duty on properties valued under £750,000.
• Scrap Net Zero and related subsidies.

Reform Party full manifesto

Workers Party of Britain manifesto pledges:

• Launch a social housing building programme, with fewer planning constraints and by taking control of all land being held back for future development
• Give local authorities the right to buy sub-standard buy-to-let properties
• Encourage those funding their retirement by investing in buy-to-let property to invest in British infrastructure and industry instead
• Make it harder to evict tenants for reasons other than antisocial behaviour
• Give tenants more control of council housing through a co-operative model to help communities improve estates
• Guarantee the right to independent home ownership

Workers Party of Britain full manifesto

Conclusion

The policies of the main political parties reflect differing priorities and approaches to reforming the private rental sector. From enhancing tenant protections and increasing housing supply to encouraging private investment and prioritizing affordability, these proposals aim to address the multifaceted challenges faced by renters and landlords alike. As the general election draws near, the future of the PRS will be a critical issue for Landlords to consider.

Disclaimer: This article contains information pulled together from a variety of sources and is not intended to influence any political decisions or preferences, nor do we have any political affiliations.

(Data Sources: Party manifestos, Goodlord, Letting Agent Today, Arla Propertymark, BBC)