Central Beds Council warns that major new renters’ rights reforms could trigger short-term rise in homelessness
Central Bedfordshire Council has warned that major new renters’ rights reforms could trigger a short-term rise in homelessness and the loss of around 1,000 private rented homes locally.
A report presented to the Social Care, Health and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Monday, April 20) said as the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force from next month some landlords may choose to leave the market in the short term.
Katie Voice, head of housing solutions, said: “Any changes in landlord behaviour and tenancy security, or our enforcement requirements, can have system-wide impacts.
“We are structurally reliant on the private rented sector to meet our statutory duties.
“That is either by helping people remain in their homes or to support them with move-on accommodation via rehousing
“[This is] a core part of our housing offer.”
The Committee was told that Central Bedfordshire’s rental market is dominated by single-property “accidental landlords”, making it “less resilient to rapid legislative change”.
Ms Voice said the council estimates that around 1,000 private sector properties could be lost, and “another impact is that it’s also pushing up rents”.
Members were told the council is expecting an increase in homelessness approaches, unlawful evictions and affordability pressures as the changes bed in.
“We can expect to see increased enforcement demand due to our strengthened investigative powers and our expanded civil penalties,” Ms Voice said.
The Renters’ Rights Act will abolish Section 21 “no fault” evictions, limit rent increases to once a year, ban rental bidding and introduce wider protections for tenants.
The report added that the Act introduces measures that are “intended to improve fairness within the private rented sector”.
This includes statutory protection against discrimination towards families and benefit recipients, and clearer rules on rent increases and tenancy practices.
These changes are “likely to benefit” groups who are disproportionately affected by housing insecurity, including low‑income households, disabled residents, and lone‑parent families.
The report said Central Bedfordshire had received £62,768 in government “new burdens” funding to prepare for the changes, alongside additional homelessness support funding.