Landlords in England and Wales face ban on rental bidding wars
Landlords in England and Wales would be banned from renting out their properties for more than the price at which they advertised them under proposals set out by the government yesterday, as ministers seek to stop expensive bidding wars.
The renters’ rights bill, which forms a key plank of the government’s housing reforms, would prohibit property owners from accepting more rent than they had asked for in the first ban on competitive bidding in the housing market.
The move, which sources said was introduced late in the process of drafting the bill, goes further than Labour promised while in opposition.
It is designed to keep a lid on the rapid increase in rents that has contributed to the housing crisis, especially in the south of England, but landlords warned it would simply increase listed prices instead.
Polly Neate, the chief executive of the charity Shelter, said: “The renters’ rights bill is a watershed moment for renters and the government is right to commit to tackling issues like bidding wars that have locked people out of renting for years.”
A Labour source said: “We will empower tenants to challenge rent increases designed to force them out by the backdoor and introduce new laws to end the practice of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents.”
The centrepiece of the bill is an immediate ban on no-fault evictions. It would also stop landlords barring tenants from keeping pets unless they had good reason, and would force them to give four months’ notice before evicting someone because they needed to sell the property, house a family member or move into it.
In the year to July, average privatesector rents in England rose 8.6%. In London it was 9.7%. Rightmove figures suggest there are 17 bidders for each advertised rental property.
Some landlord groups have said owners will raise the advertised price even if they know they will not get it.