Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw MHK has responded to private landlords who have expressed concern about proposed legislation to regulate the private rented sector.
Mr Robertshaw said the proposals were not draconian but simply set minimum standards which most rented accommodation would comply with anyway.
The Manx Landlords’ Association is to represent the collective views of landlords and provide a platform to voice concerns over the new bill which is likely to pass through Tynwald this autumn.
At a recent meeting, committee member Stephen Moore told landlords: ‘One point I wanted to emphasise is that landlords are investors in the island and they support a whole industry from estate agents to trades people like plumbers and joiners.’
The new act, if approved, will set up a landlords’ register of all private rented accommodation and it will also set minimum standards for the properties to meet. These proposals, which recently came to the end of a 12-week consultation period, were contained in a document, available online, for landlords to respond to.
Concerns among members were raised about the possible cost and difficulty of complying with some of the requirements – particularly for those people with older properties in conservation areas. They also thought model tenancy agreements provided under the proposals by housing charity Kemyrk could be too ‘pro-tenant’. While the legislation laid down many tenants’ rights, it did nothing to aid the landlord who might, for example, be chasing rent arrears or trying to evict a destructive tenant. The proposals do not affect local authority housing.
The proposals also include regulations controlling discrimination on grounds of gender, religion, sexuality or being in receipt of benefits – meaning landlords would no longer be able to stipulate ‘No DHSS’.
One landlord told the meeting: ‘People looking to move here will think twice about it if they can’t handle their investments as they wish.’
He confirmed discriminatory advertising, including restrictions on people receiving benefits, would not be acceptable but added landlords would then make their own decision based on people’s references, credit-worthiness and similar matters.
Mr Robertshaw said: ‘People are saying it will be expensive, bureaucratic and onerous, but it is none of those things. For example, registration will be every three years, not annually and we are not going to go round and systematically check every property.’
