Supply of rented housing examined

More supply of rented housing is needed - 50,000 social rented homes need to be completed each year to meet new demand and tackle the backlog. Further significant increases in supply in the private rented sector will require large institutional investors to be attracted back to the sector. Tax and regulatory reform are the levers that will encourage such investment.

Meanwhile there are improvements to be made to the existing stock in both the private and the social rented sectors, which will both improve supply and improve the experience of the tenants. The efficiencies that have been brought to the refurbishment and construction of social rented homes by the growth of housing associations, the ring-fencing of local authority landlord accounts, and the introduction of Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) now need to be applied to the management of the existing social rented stock.

Better regulation is the imperative in the private rented sector. Good foundations exist to introduce a system of accreditation devised by trade bodies and enforced by local authorities, with the ultimate oversight of the new regulator of social housing, Oftenant. The Government now needs to build on those foundations and add to them further financial and regulatory incentives to private landlords to manage and maintain their stock effectively.

The Committee calls for the creation of mixed communities to pervade all spatial and housing policy and for local authorities to be given the freedom, support, and resources necessary to pursue this aim.

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