Landlords properties that don’t meet requirements of being ‘safe, warm and in a good state of repair’, will be pushed for upgrades as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ plans.
Impacting around 800,000 rental properties, a £1.5bn ‘Levelling Up Home Building Fund’ will provide loans to small and medium-sized builders and developers to improve the quality and safety of British homes.
Nick Woodward, Head of Lettings at apartment rental brand, Essential Living, says, “following housing shortages and a cost of living hike, ensuring properties are up to a certain standard is important to help bring fresh air into disadvantaged communities after a difficult few years.
“Particularly for those who have lived in small and unsafe apartments during the pandemic, now is the time to improve the quality of British homes that don’t meet requirements that are up to standards.
“With the law introducing a register that anyone renting a house must join, rogue landlords will be ejected from the list – meaning landlords who aren’t playing by the rules will have nowhere to hide.
“It is important that landlords provide homes that are of a suitable standard, and there are far too many poor areas across the UK for quality of life. The government is targeting the vast majority of the funding to areas outside London and the South East, where there are many towns suffering from poverty.
“Houses that have been converted into flats and older apartments will be the ones most in need of these services, so renters should be aware to keep an eye out for ‘under the radar’ issues that may not be so obvious on first inspection when viewing a property like this in the next few months.
“We hope this boost will help landlords to transform the quality of their homes and improve the rental sector across the UK.”
