Legislation a victory for Liberal Democrats

3 April 2018

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee have released a report on the draft Tenant Fees Bill, and it's exactly what the Lib Dems have been calling for.

Commenting on the news, Wera Hobhouse said:

“This draft legislation on letting fees is a victory for the Liberal Democrats. We have long called for the government to cap upfront deposits, ban letting agency fees and clamp down on rogue landlords.

“The cap on holding deposits is a welcome step to make renting more affordable, but the government must put their money where their mouth is and ensure that sufficient funding is granted to local authorities to enforce these measures.

“The end of a private rented tenancy is now the number one cause of homelessness as people can’t afford the ever increasing rental costs, let alone the huge upfront deposits.

“If the government truly wants to make deposits more affordable, they must establish a new Help to Rent scheme which provides government-backed tenancy deposit loans. Not taking action would be to ignore the many young people across the UK unable to afford a place of their own.”