News that a national register of private landlords is being considered by the Labour party has been welcomed by various property professionals, as it should help to crackdown on rogue landlords in the private rented sector (PRS).
If elected at the next general election in 2015, Labour said that it would introduce more stringent regulation in a bid to improve standards in the PRS. This would potentially include banning serious criminals from acting as landlords.
But with the supply-demand imbalance continuing to widen, and with many housebuilders focussing on selling new developments abroad for prices well beyond what typical UK workers can afford, many industry experts also want to see the opposition concentrate on providing a greater supply of new homes, including more affordable homes for rent.
Darryl Flay, chief executive of Essential Living, said: "Labour's support for renting is welcome and measures to address rogue landlords will be a vote winner. But what will win more votes will be delivering a greater number of better quality homes - which we and other developers are well placed to do."
Mr Flay wants to see greater political support for the creation of developments in which investors had genuine long term interests - rather than typical 'build to sell' developments that are sold off after completion.
He added: "The opposition has recognised the value of quality rented homes - especially given the continued growth in house prices. We look forward to sharing ideas around how we can support policies which mean rental developments are better understood by councils and policymakers."