Cabinet minister Michael Gove said low-income households might seek rent assistance during the cost of living crisis. On Sunday, the Levelling Up Secretary told Laura Kuenssberg on BBC that UK tenants will receive “targeted help” to pay their private landlords.
Rightmove reports that rent outside of London reached a record high of £1,162 between July and September. Due to rising food and energy prices, inflation is at 10.1%, affecting many people.
Michael Gove told the BBC that officials were considering a “variety of possibilities” for renters but could not offer details. Wales devolves housing policy, but the minister didn’t rule out supporting tenants through subsidies, tax relief, or other means.
He said: “Well, we know people in private rented sector and in social rented sector are facing tough times.
“We are looking at a range of options to help them. It could mean targeted support for all sorts of people who are in difficulty. I can’t anticipate specific support. There are people in all sorts of difficult economic circumstances.
“Rent is going to be one of the challenges people will face. We also have food price inflation, we have already had support for people facing rising energy prices… There are different ways of supporting people, whether that’s through universal credit, the tax system, or direct support.”
In Wales, landlords and tenants will face major rental market changes in a few weeks. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, introduced on December 1, would overhaul Welsh housing regulations for decades.
The legislation, delayed from July 2022 to allow the housing market more time to recover from the coronavirus outbreak, intends to enhance how dwellings are rented, maintained, and lived in and make the rental process’simpler and more transparent,’ according to Climate Change Minister Julie James.
However, landlords are leaving the rental market, renters are being evicted with little notice before the new legislation is applied, and housing supply pinch areas are causing heated bidding for houses.
The landlord must give the renter (called the “contract-holder” in the statute) a written copy of the occupation contract. Two-month “no-fault” notice periods will become six months. Contract holders will have at least 12 months of security at the start of their tenancy because they cannot give notice in the first six months.
