Sometimes a change is as good as a holiday. In this case I am talking about a change of housing minister. Grant Shapps announced yesterday that the proposals for huge regulation of landlords and letting agencies are to be totally scrapped. This will come as relief to a lot of industry experts who were expressing grave concerns about over regulation.
Other people will, of course, be concerned that the findings and recommendations of the Rugg review are to be so totally ignored. Mr Shapps take on the proposals that were tabled in response to the review, however, is that they were burdensome. This is a position that is largely in line with what the industry has been saying all along.
Mr Shapps said: “With the vast majority of England’s three million tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied that the current system strikes the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.”
There is some sense it that. The decision though will leave the industry in the UK completely unregulated as it has always been. It will be interesting to see how long that situation will be allowed to continue.
