Making NI Private Rented Sector bigger and better - conference report

Over 100 delegates attended a packed conference held in Belfast on the 6th November that was aimed to open debate on how the Northern Ireland private rented sector (PRS) can genuinely offer a more viable and attractive longer-term tenure option. The audience, made up of government officials, advice workers, academics, landlords and tenants, heard from speakers across the UK and Ireland.

Keynote address from Housing Minister Mervyn Storey

Social Development Minister, Mervyn Storey MLA, announced a review that aims to enhance the private rented sector in Northern Ireland at the conference. The Minister added that his departmental officials have begun a series of meetings with interested bodies and have already developed a list of issues including those put forward by the Private Tenants' Forum at a recent meeting in Housing Rights Service.

PRS policy in Great Britain, Ireland and across Europe

The attendees first heard from Peter Kemp, Professor of Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. He informed the conference of the changing landscape for private renting in England.  Peter highlighted the many longterm problems still present in the PRS despite significant improvements.  It has yet to adjust to its new role as a source of long-term housing for low-income tenants.

Professor Eoin O’Sullivan from Trinity College Dublin, gave an insight into the regulation of the PRS in the Republic of Ireland. He explained that regulation of the sector was strengthened in 2004. Despite gloomy predictions the sector has continued to grow and landlords have not fled the market in the intervening 10 years

The session concluded with a presentation from Kath Scanlon, from the London School of Economics. Kath outlined what we could learn from other countries. Options which need to be considered include

• divere funding sources,
• greater regulation,
• tax incentives for private landlords
• long term tenancies and
• government incentives to make the sector work for low income households.

The Tenant and Landlord Experience

Stephen Orr and Brigitte Anton from the Private Tenants’ Forum urged decisions makers to include private tenants in discussions to improve it. They launched their Agenda for Action, 8 key issues they want policy makers to consider during any review of the private rented sector.

Raymond Crooks, Chair of the Landlords Association of Northern Ireland spoke of how many landlords do not initially view themselves as such, and of the problems landlords can encounter with both tenants and regulation.

Ben Beadle, Managing Director of TDS NI, ended this session with a look at the impact of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in Northern Ireland since its introduction in April 2013.  He noted that there is a lot more to be done to offer protection to those tenants not covered, but said TDS NI believes that practices in the sector have improved  since the scheme was introduced.  In other parts of the UK, disputes over cleaning are the most common reason for deposit disputes to go to adjudication.  TDSNI's figures showed the majority of disputes arose for other reasons, most commonly due to tenants leaving a property before the end of the tenancy.  This begs the question of why the tenants left before the contract ended and what can be done to address this issue. 

Expanding and improving the Private Rented Sector

Mark Hitchen, Head of Expanding the Private Rented Sector, DCLG, talked of how to drive large scale development and encouraging institutional investment in the private rented sector. He told the conference that there is £2.5billion funding left in the Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme and that this funding is available to housing providers in NI.

Aileen Devanny, President of the Scottish Private Rented Housing Panel, described how Scotland resolves disputes between landlords and tenants. In Scotland, all tenants are given a tenancy information pack.  The aim of these packs is to ensure that both tenants and landlords are fully informed of their respective rights and responsibilities.

The event ended with a panel session.  Siobhan McCauley from Northern Ireland Housing Executive discussed NIHE's plans for the private rented sector and stated that NIHE will be looking increasingly to the private sector to help it meet its legal duty towards those people who are statutorily homeless.  This prompted discussion on the suitability of Northern Ireland's current PRS for vulnerable homeless households, what support is currently available to assist vulnerable tenants and what measures will be put in place to ensure the future funding of these vital services. 

Janet Hunter, Director of Housing Rights Service, concluded the event, stating the PRS is a very important part of the Northern Ireland housing market that deserves serious policy attention and thanking TDS NI for kindly sponsoring the conference.

Missed out on the conference?

Visit Storify to find out more about what happened on the day and download the speakers' presentations below. 

Peter Kemp – The changing Landscape for private renting in England
Eoin 0’Sullivan – The Private Rented Sector in the Republic of Ireland
Kath Scanlon – The operation of the PRS: International lessons
Ben Beadle – Tenancy Deposits: The story so far
Mark HItchen – Expanding the Private Rented Sector
Aileen Devanny – Resolving disputes between private tenants and landlords