The Renters’ Rights Bill will return to Parliament for debate this week. The introduction of the Decent Homes Standard and the expansion under the proposed legislation of Awaab’s Law to tackle damp and mould, along with the requirement to report property inspection data, will give tenants greater confidence that they are living in safe and warm homes.

The Bill also empowers Local Authorities to issue more civil penalties against landlords with non-compliant properties. While these changes will undoubtedly raise standards across the sector, Local Authorities will need to handle an increased volume of information more effectively, all within their existing resource capacity.

With new responsibilities for Local Authorities, questions remain around funding and the implementation of these measures. Passing legislation is the easy part - delivering on these commitments is where the real challenge lies. Local Authorities are already operating within constrained budgets, and additional responsibilities without adequate funding risk undermining the effectiveness of these regulations.

Home Safe has been supporting Local Authorities in making sure that the private rented sector remains compliant with the law. Home Safe has developed digital tools, a live digital dashboard, and delivered physical property inspections with digital reporting and ongoing compliance management reporting functions. These tools have been developed in conjunction with Local Authorities to ensure they meet the needs of officers and enable reporting with information on the problems identified and action plans put in place on how to rectify them, with checks that this is being done. The digitalisation of information allows full oversight by the Local Authority that the issues identified are being addressed.

By partnering with Home Safe, fixing the costs for the five years of a licensing scheme allows greater budgeting certainty. The 2019 review of Selective Licensing highlighted that bringing the scheme in on budget was a challenge with many Local Authorities going over budget. Our instant reporting provides real-time insights into the number of inspections that have taken place, how many hazards have been identified, and if patterns are emerging around certain areas e.g. lack of smoke alarms. This enables Local Authorities to swiftly identify non-compliant properties and target false certifications, ensuring a more proactive and effective approach to enforcement.

The Renters’ Rights Bill is the start of long-needed improvements to the private rented sector, but the initial burden of the efforts to improve the sector will still fall on Local Authorities, as regulators who must lay the foundations for success. Using the right tools for the job will be paramount.