New rental standards for landlords by 2015

Friday 23 May 2014

Basic property standards for landlords will have to be in place by the end of year after the States backed a big shake-up of rental rules that will include an investigation into capping private sector rents.

States Members voted 32 to six to approve Deputy Montfort Tadier’s backbencher proposition to set standards for rental properties and an inspection regime, and to create a register of landlords and set up an investigation into setting maximum rent levels.

The Deputy has been pressuring the Housing department on housing standards for some time, and his proposal won the support of the majority of the Council of Ministers, including Housing Minister Andrew Green. Laws passed earlier this year set down that tenants should not have to pay for properties that were “uninhabitable” but Deputy Tadier’s proposition went a step further in requiring clear definitions of what was and was not acceptable, and how those standards should be measured.

He said that the new rules would give clarity to both tenants and landlords, and that while he was not necessarily advocating rent controls, it was something that should be looked at.

“It is unlikely that the chronic shortage in affordable, decent accommodation will be met any time soon, simply by meeting supply - especially as this government plans to grow the population," he said. “I have asked for an investigation into whether rent controls can work as one possible solution.

“I’m not advocating it one way or the other, but it is a mechanism to look at.

“What was positive is that this was a demonstration of how a backbencher can work constructively with a department. I did a lot of work with the department, and it was good also to put a little extra pressure on the minister to say that this is an important issue.”