Mayor champions London Rental Standard

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London mayor Boris Johnson has announced plans for a major new voluntary accreditation scheme for landlords and agents, the ‘London Rental Standard’.

The proposals, which do not include rent controls, are now out for consultation, with a launch date later this year.

The aim is to increase the number of accredited landlords and letting agents in London to 100,000 by 2016. Eventually, tenants would have access to a register to check whether a landlord or agent is accredited.

Approximately one quarter of all Londoners – equating to 800,000 households – live in private rented accommodation, with the proportion predicted to grow to 30% by 2025.

Johnson has steered away from any form of mandatory licensing, saying that the private rented sector has not yet exhausted its capacity for self-regulation.

The document details 12 core commitments, including minimum expectations around protection of deposits, provision of contact details, emergency and urgent repairs response times, property conditions, complaints handling, fee transparency, as well as courses for landlords and letting agents offering training and development.

Although 68% of Londoners say they are either satisfield or very satisfied with their landlord, the mayor said he wants to establish a set of universal standards that tenants should expect from any accreditation scheme.

He is also proposing incentives for landlords to join, which could include discounts on services, and is planning to support the establishment of private sector tenants groups who can hold their landlords to account.

Landlords will be invited to take part in a pilot to test how they can offer tenants longer contracts and greater certainty over rent increases.