The Conservative’s Green Paper on Housing - Nothing for Tenants

With the implosion of Gordon Brown’s government happening before our eyes, it’s worth looking at Conservative policy on the privately rented sector.  They have a green paper on their site.  It’s 40 pages and goes into some detail on the housing market.  Nevertheless, I can quite easily quote the whole part on the private rented sector as this weighs in at four paragraphs:

The private rented sector constitutes a significant component of the housing market, accounting for 13 per cent of the 22 million homes in England.Often unfairly seen as a fallback option for those who cannot afford to buy but are not sufficiently in need to qualify for social housing, the private rented sector plays a key role in meeting the accommodation needs of millions of households, many of whom greatly appreciate the flexibility and variety that the sector offers.
Yet the sector has the potential to play an even fuller and more effective part in meeting the country’s future housing needs. Private landlords could play an important role in bringing under-utilised or empty homes back into occupation. Individual landlords are also capable of delivering small developments and conversions on sites too marginal or too difficult for larger businesses to undertake. Single operators can quickly and effectively
operate at low margins on brownfield sites.
We will conduct a review of the private rented sector to examine how the sector can play an enhanced role in the housing market. As part of this review, we will look at how consistent and appropriate the current regulation of the sector is, as well as evaluating the cumulative effect of the statutory regulation on landlords.
We will look to eliminate duplication and contradiction, and ensure regulation is proportionate to risk – focusing on public safety and rogue landlords. In so doing, we will end the uncertainty Labour have created about investment in private renting, re-establishing confidence and so encouraging the provision of much needed private sector housing for rent.

There you have it.  This is by a wide margin the smallest section in the paper (energy efficiency gets four pages) and really promises only to conduct a review aimed at making investment by landlords easier.  Nothing on our favourite themes of security of tenure and long term leases.

It seems the tenant cannot expect any help from a Conservative government.