HCLG Select Committee Report takes forward TDS Charitable Foundation recommendations

The TDS Charitable Foundation welcomes the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Select Committee’s report on housing conditions in the private rented sector (PRS), which takes forward many of the recommendations set out in our evidence to the inquiry.

The report recognises a message that has emerged consistently through our research: improving housing conditions is about more than creating new rights. Success depends on informed tenants, supported landlords, effective enforcement and practical tools that help people navigate an increasingly complex system.

Tackling unintentional non-compliance

One of the clearest areas of alignment with our evidence is the Committee’s focus on unintentional non-compliance among landlords. The report recognises that most landlords recognise their responsibility to provide a safe, decent home but legitimately struggle to comply with the standards the Government is introducing.  

Our national Voice of the Landlord survey found that 41% of landlords feel changes to the law and regulations are not clearly communicated.

We therefore welcome the Committee’s recommendation that a proportion of funding from the new Private Rented Sector Database should be used by local authorities to support proactive interventions that help landlords understand and meet their legal obligations.

This closely reflects work already being explored by the TDS Charitable Foundation in Greater Manchester, where we are using behavioural science to understand what drives unintentional non-compliance. We will shortly test a range of practical interventions with landlords, building real-world evidence on what makes compliance easier and helping to shape national policy.

Our research also highlights the potential of the PRS Database to become a vital support tool for landlords.

A more ambitious Private Rented Sector Database

The report adopts our view that the new Private Rented Sector Database should be far more than an administrative register. The Committee argues that it should:

• Inform tenants and empower them to report concerns

• Support landlords in meeting their legal responsibilities

• Improve compliance across the sector

• Provide regulators and local authorities with more effective oversight

Our research supports this vision. If designed effectively, the database could act as a proactive compliance support tool, giving landlords a single trusted source of information on safety and other legal obligations, tailored guidance and timely prompts that reduce reliance on memory.

It could provide targeted support for landlords most likely to face capability, capacity or information barriers – such as self-managing, small portfolio or circumstantial landlords – which could reduce unintentional non-compliance and free up local authority capacity to focus on criminal landlords.

However, our evidence also raised two important implementation questions: how will landlords be informed of their new obligations before the database is live, and how will they be made aware of the database once it launches? The same challenge applies to tenants: if the database is to help improve standards, tenants must know it exists and feel confident reporting concerns, which makes wider awareness and support critical to the success of the reforms.

Helping tenants understand and use their rights

The Committee echoes our view that stronger legal protections alone will not be enough. New rights must be understood, accessible and tenants need to feel confident and secure to report disrepair and challenge poor standards.

Our national Voice of the Tenant research shows:

·      Seven in ten renters are unclear what the Renters’ Rights Act means for them

·      One in five tenants avoid escalating complaints because they fear a rent increase

·      78% are unaware they can challenge unfair rent increases at a Tribunal

We therefore welcome the Committee’s focus on tenant awareness, ensuring Tribunal protections are working effectively and restoring Local Housing Allowance to at least the 30th percentile of market rents.  

Government must now ensure that reforms are backed by clear public information, practical signposting (through tools like the My Housing Issue Gateway) and affordability support. Without this, tenants may still lack the confidence and security to act on poor conditions without fear of losing their home or facing unaffordable rent increases.

Turning reform into real improvement

As Government implements the Renters’ Rights Act, the Committee’s report reinforces a clear message: legal reform must be backed by practical action if it is to improve housing conditions. That means giving tenants the information, tools and confidence to report poor standards, helping landlords comply with their legal obligations, and ensuring local authorities have the enforcement capacity and tools to target their resources effectively. Taken together, these measures offer a real opportunity to create a private rented sector that is safer, fairer and works better for both tenants and landlords.