Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the recommendation of the National Audit Office's report entitled Regulation of private renting, published in December 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of dispute resolution schemes for tenants in the private rented sector (PRS), including whether those schemes (a) are accessible to all tenants, (b) provide effective redress for tenants when things go wrong and (c) provide his Department sufficient insight into emerging issues in the PRS.

In order to improve access to redress for private renters, it has been a legal requirement since October 2014 for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government-approved redress schemes. The Department is committed to ensuring that the schemes’ systems and processes work well for tenants and landlords.

The schemes are independent from Government, and set out their own processes and procedures for supporting tenants, in line with the approval conditions set by Government. The schemes issue guidance to tenants and provide advice and support both by email and by phone, ensuring that digitally excluded tenants are still able to access redress. In 2020, the two schemes awarded a combined £2.3 million in compensation to tenants and landlords. The schemes also expelled and referred to trading standards 63 property agents after failing to comply with decisions.

The Department closely monitors the performance of each of the redress schemes through monthly data returns and quarterly meetings, to ensure the schemes are operating effectively and that emerging issues in the private rented sector are identified.

The Government does, however, recognise that the existing redress schemes are not accessible to all tenants. Tenants who rent directly from their landlords currently do not have access to free and impartial redress and this is not fair. This is why we have committed to require all private landlords to belong to a mandatory redress scheme, so that all private renters have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home. We will set out more details on how this commitment will be delivered in the Renters Reform White Paper later this year, with legislation following in due course.