Richard Donnell, Executive Director of Research & Insight at Zoopla comments:

“With the backdrop of the cost of living crisis putting pressure on renters, these reforms are welcome and timely, particularly as they’re largely focused on boosting the quality of housing in the rented sector. The private rented sector plays an important role in the housing market, providing much needed homes for a wide spectrum of households. These reforms mark another milestone in the journey to create a suitable equilibrium between renters and private landlords who provide the majority of homes for rent.”

“However, it’s important to note that the private rented sector is under growing strain due to lower levels of new investment by private landlords, largely a result of tax changes and more regulation. There are a growing number of amateur, private landlords exiting the market, offsetting the increased investment from corporate landlords and institutional investors into the build-to-rent market. There is a delicate balance to ensure reforms don’t compound these supply-side challenges which continue to keep an upward pressure on rents, which have risen 11% in the last year. Ensuring decent homes is paramount but so is the investment into this important sector of the housing market.”

“The Zoopla Lettings Advisory Board has advocated a range of initiatives to improve the transparency over the process of owning and renting homes. In particular, the need for a property register for rented homes to help with compliance on standards of accommodation and the move to define when homes meet the Decent Homes Standard for private rented homes. This will also boost transparency for renters and landlords who both have to deal with often complex regulatory requirements. There is a lot of detail to work through in how this is rolled out and Zoopla will continue to work with our advisory board and estate agency partners to seek operational efficiencies in the lettings market through our software platforms.”