Housing and Regeneration Bill
12:00 pm
Adam Sampson: It would certainly be helpful in considering the role of a regulator if the framing of those regulations were sufficiently flexible to allow the private rented sector to be brought under the ambit of that regulator at a future time. However, I do not want to anticipate the outcome of a full review of the private rented sector. Shelter’s preferred option is to have far greater regulation of the private rented sector, and no one should be in any doubt about that. However, regulation needs to be married with a package of incentives to encourage the further development and professionalisation of the private rented sector. I would not want to move swiftly to regulation without understanding the package of incentives for decent landlords to remain in the sector. Yes, frame the powers of the regulator sufficiently so that they can in future be applied to the private rented sector too, if that is seen as necessary and desirable, but postpone any decision on whether to do that until the out-turn of the review of that sector.